Planetary Crisis
by ShadowKitsune77
Summary: Set 1 year after Dirge of Cerberus, life has returned to normal for Cloud and the others until strange creatures appear on the planet claiming that they were sent there by accident. This is my first fanfic, please go easy on me.
1. Planetary Allignment

**Planetary Crisis**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Final Fantasy vii or any associated characters. Final Fantasy vii and all associated characters belong to Square Enix. I do however own characters that I created myself.

This story takes place one year after Dirge of Cerberus.

**A/N, I decided to make a few changes to the ages and correct a couple of errors, sorry about the confusion.**

**Characters**

**Heroes**

**Avalanche**

**Cloud Strife**- Age 25

**Tifa Lockheart**- Age 24

**Barret Wallace**- Age 39

**Cid Highwind**- Age 36

**Nanaki a.k.a. Red xiii**- Age 52

**Yuffie Kisargi**- Age 20

**Reeve**- Age 30s

**Cait Sith**- Age none

**Vincent Valentine**- Age 27, his body doesn't age

**Major**

**Max**- (Age 19) a five tailed Kitsune and prince of the Kitsune World. Max is incredibly intelligent with an IQ of around 350; he has extensive knowledge and skills in mechanics and invents things to help make life easier. He has sea-green fur, unruly green spiky hair, bright aqua-marine eyes, blue tail tips and inside of ears. He has a red scar across his left eye. He wears purple long sleeved undershirt, a black tunic over the top, black baggy trousers, black fingerless gloves and black leather boots.

**Pandora**- (Age 20) an attractive bat with a sassy attitude, she is married to Max. Pandora is highly skilled in black magic. She has red fur, pink eyes, long black hair. Large ears, two black wings on her back and a long cat like tail. Pandora wears a purple one piece corset and skirt, the corset extends down the length of Pandora's legs. She wears black gloves, fishnet tights ad black knee length boots.

**Drogo-** (Age 20) a hedgehog who has exceptional thieving skills and wields two kitanas. Drogo is the ex King of Thieves and a recovering alcoholic, he is married to a girl called Sunny and spends most his time catching thieves. Drogo has purple fur and spines, sea green eyes and his fringe spikes are light purple but often mistaken for pink. The markings on his spines are light blue. He wears a blue waistcoat over a dark blue shirt, blue pants decorated with yin/yang symbols, red fingerless gloves, brown boots. He wears a brown leather pouch round his waist. He has a yin/yang tattoo on his right shoulder.

**Sunny**- (Age 20) a kind, caring hedgehog who has the ability to summon creatures and cast white magic. She is currently married to Drogo and is impressed that he managed to turn his life around. She has peach coloured fur and spines, with dark orange markings, and brown eyes. She wears a light blue halter-neck top which extends down her legs. A blue short skirt. Light blue sleeves that are not attached to her top. Blue gloves, blue knee length boots and a long blue scarf. She also wears a light blue head band with a blue flower in her hair.

**Lance**- (Age 21) a cybernetic fox who has exceptional skill with a spear. He is married to Angel and also acts as her bodyguard. As a guard Lance is bound to his duties and dislikes anyone who lacks honour. He has sky blue fur, a turquoise muzzle, the inside of his ears and the tip of his tail are also turquoise, the tips of his ears are blue. He has brown eyes, but his cybernetic eye is a light shade of brown, has a red pupil and target sensor within it. He has light blue spiky hair that trails down into dreadlocks. He wears a long red tunic, red shoulder pads, a silver breast plate, brown leather belt, blue pants, brown fingerless gloves, and brown, leather knee length boots clad with armour.

**Angel**- (Age 21) she is a rabbit with outstanding etiquette and is an accomplished blade dancer. Angel can cast white magic and has some summoning abilities but she isn't a force to be trifled with. Angel is more than capable of standing up for herself and speaks her mind. She is married to Lance. Angel has tan coloured fur with light brown ear tips. The inside of here ears are pink. She has sea-green eyes and her long brown hair is tied back into a ponytail. She wears a light blue corset, and long light blue sleeves. Her long skirt is green-blue, the cuffs of her sleeves, her gloves and her high heeled shoes are also green-blue.

**Isis**- (Age 21) a cybernetic cat, (more specifically a Persian) who has the ability to materialise weapons, (mainly guns) into her hands at will. Isis takes a vigilante approach to Criminals. She has no life companion and prefers to be alone. Isis has snow white fur with silver markings, yellow eyes with red pupils and target sensors, and long snow white hair. She wears a black, skin tight, bio mesh cat suit that stops that protects her against almost any bullet and black boots.

**Nightshade**- (Age 41) a seven tailed Kitsune and Max's father. Like Max, Nightshade is highly intelligent and has extensive skills in black and white magic, also like Max, he is psychic. Nightshade agreed to teach Max everything he knew about being a king. He has red-brown fur, blood red eyes usually hidden behind black shades. The insides of his ears and the tips of his tails are light blue, and the tips of his ears are brown. Nightshade has long blue spiky hair that is tied back into a ponytail, which trails down his back to just above his tails. He wears a purple waistcoat on top of a dark blue tunic, dark blue trousers, a light brown leather belt and light brown fingerless gloves. He wears a black coat made of leather and brown shoes.

**Minor**

**Rufus Shinra**- Age 20s

**Reno**-20s

**Rude**-20s

**Marlene**- Age 8

**Denzel**- Age 12

**Aerith ****Gainsborough**- Age 22

**Zack**- Age 23

**Villains**

**Illusion**- (Age 9000) a Dark Kitsune High Priestess and ex-advisor to the Dark Kitsune Queen. Illusion is a necromancer, (she can raise the dead) and as her name implies has dominion over illusions/dreams and shadows. Illusion has travelled to the planet Earth many years before and tried to conquer it, but was thwarted in her attempts. After the death of the Dark Kitsune Queen and Scarlet, Illusion had taken charge of the Dark Kitsunes and remained underground until the time was right to reveal herself. Illusion revives villains that were previously dead to help her carryout her plans. Even though she is 9000 years old she has the physical appearance of a 20 year old. She has dark purple fur, golden yellow eyes, her long, maroon coloured hair is styled into dreadlocks, the tips of her ears are black and the inside of her ears and tips of her tails are a lighter shade of purple. She wears a black high priestess robe and has nine tails.

**Sephiroth**- Age 20s

**Hojo**- Age unknown

**Balthazar**- (Age 40) Balthazar is Max's uncle who was hell bent on taking over both the Kitsune World and Terra Firma. He once tried to drain Max of his powers but failed and was eventually killed by Max. Determined to get revenge Balthazar' soul didn't pass on into the after life and he was revived by Illusion to get his revenge on Max. Balthazar has red fur and gleaming orange eyes. He has black spiky hair that ties back into a short ponytail, the tips of his ears are black and the insides of his ears and the tips of his tails are orange. Balthazar wears a black waistcoat over a white shirt, black trousers, black gloves and boots and a black coat.

**Scarlet**- (Age 18) Balthazar's daughter and Max's evil cousin. Scarlet took over from Balthazar when he was killed by Max, angry at Max for killing her father she tried to have him assassinated but failed. Scarlet was killed by Max and the others when she fused with the spirit of the Dark Kitsune Queen. Like her Father, Scarlet was driven by revenge and her soul was unable to pass on to the afterlife. Scarlet was revived by Illusion to help carry out her plans and to get revenge on Max and his friends. Scarlet has red fur, gleaming yellow eyes, short black hair, the tips of her ears are orange and the inside of her ears and the tips of her tails are peach. She wears a long purple Chinese style dress. Black elbow length gloves and black knee length boots.

**Chapter 1: Planetary Alignment**

It was a year since the defeat of Scarlet and the Dark Kitsune Queen and everyone had gone their own separate ways. Lance and Angel had rebuilt their hometown that was destroyed by Balthazar, Drogo had gone to live with Sunny and became a guard. Isis became a travelling bounty hunter, she felt like she really didn't have a home to go to. Max and Pandora were living on the Kitsune World preparing to be crowned King and Queen. The head elder Celeste and Nightshade vowed to help them in anyway they could. However it wasn't long before the group was longing to see each other again. Everyone was currently in the Great Hall of the Palace in the Kitsune World waiting for Max to unveil something.

Angel smiled at everyone,_ "_it's so good to be together again, I've missed these moments!" She stated happily.

Lance nodded in agreement, "yeah, it's good to see everyone again." Lance held Angel by the waist and kissed her on the cheek, Angel giggled slightly.

Drogo however was pacing round the room looking impatient. "Max, will you just hurry up and unveil the thing already! The suspense is killing me!"

Everyone laughed at Drogo's impatience as this was very out of character for him, because Drogo was usually very patient.

"Alright, to stop Drogo from dying on me." Max said sarcastically, but he was also grinning inanely. Drogo gave Max an evil stare, but Max ignored it and walked over to a curtain and removed it revealing what looked like eight small watch like devices.

Everyone stared at the objects lying on the table. "What are those things?" Sunny asked curiously

Max picked up a teleportation device and wrapped it round his wrist. "These are teleportation devices," he answered smugly, still grinninh at the others,_ "_I designed them myself. There's one each for everyone, I've set co-ordinates in them already. If you want to come and see us or if me, Pandora and Nightshade want to see you guys, all you have to do is set the co-ordinates and press the green button on the side and it'll warp you to where you want to go. Max saw the confused looks on everyone's faces and his grin grew wider, he loved giving complicated explanations sometimes, it was worth it just to see the look on everyone's face.

Sunny eventually broke the confused silence as she took one of the devices and put it on her wrist. "Neat, thanks Max, it looks just like a watch."

"That was the plan," Max stated as he looked proudly at his creations, "they're small and easy to carry and they're really easy to use too."

Drogo gave Max a sceptical stare, "this is what you've been inventing the whole time?" He questioned.

Max turned his attention to Drogo, "Yeah." He responded, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," came the response, "I was just wondering, are you sure these things work? I mean the last invention you created did go heywire on you and it started producing monsters and..."

"Alright Drogo, I get it!" Max interrupted quickly, the last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his VR Battle Simulator that had cost him both his job and his home. "The VR Battle Simulator is completely irrelevant, besides my inventing skills have improved since then. I've worked out every bug on those things nothing can go wrong."

Drogo gave Max another sceptical stare, but he knew that Max wouldn't let them use the devices if they were dangerous in any way, so he rather reluctantly picked up a device. Five minutes later and everyone had a device round their wrists.

Pandora knowing only too well what happened the last time Max had invented something gave him a worried look. "As much as I hate to admit it," Pandora stated casting a quick look at Drogo, "but, Drogo is right. Maybe we should test these inventions out, you know, just to make sure that they work."

Max sighed and gave Pandora a doleful look, he never expected his life partner to doubt him, he then smiled at her. "Don't worry," He said an air of confidence in his voice, "I've already tested and re-tested them, they should work fine."

Pandora was still feeling doubtful about this, she had a feeling that something was bound to go wrong, but Max had worked really hard on these devices and she didn't want to hurt his feelings but at the same time she didn't want anything bad to happen. "But…" Pandora was about to respond to Max's comment but she was interrupted by Lance.

"Hey relax Pandora, if Max says that they work, then we've got nothing to worry about."

Isis, the group's resident misery guts was far less convinced, she was the kind of person who spoke her mind and she didn't care who's feelings she hurt in the process. "I estimate that there is a 50 chance of us successfully using these devices." She stated in her own typical fashion.

Drogo glared at Isis, "yeah, thanks Isis for that cheerful point of view." He muttered sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Isis shot back.

"I was being sarcastic!" Drogo yelled at Isis.

"So was I!" Isis retorted.

Nightshade sighed, he hated it when people got into an argument over the most trivial things. Being the oldest member of the group, Nightshade is usually the mature one, but he can still behave like a juvenile at times. Nightshade hated confrontations between members of the group and often avoided them and this occasion was no exception. While everyone was busy discussing or arguing for want of a better word about Max's invention, Nightshade walked towards the window and looked outside where he was greeted by an awe-inspiring sight.

Nightshade whistled loudly causing everyone to stop talking and they stared at him. "When you're quite finished!" He barked glaring at them all, "take a look outside." He pointed out of the window.

Everyone rushed to the window and looked in the direction Nightshade was pointing in and saw a spherical object in the night sky.

"Is that a planet?" Angel asked as she stared in awe at the floating object in the sky.

"It looks like one." Max stated he too was unable to take his eyes off it.

Everyone was amazed to find that they were staring at another planet. This planet wasn't the neighbouring world of Terra Firma, nor was it the Dark Kitsune World, but an entirely new planet altogether and it was shinning brightly in the night sky as though it was a star.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Sunny exclaimed hardly able to contain her excitement.

"Every 300 years or so," Nightshade stated as he grinned smugly at the others, like Max he reveled in imparting knowledge that only he knew. It was a case of like father like son. "It's said that two distant planets will align."

Pandora turned away from the planet to stare at Nightshade. "Then what happens?" She quized, curious to find out more.

Nightshade shrugged his shoulders,_ "_I don't know," He answered, "though whatever's about to happen it's big."

For a while nobody spoke but continued to stare at the strange planet that seemed so far away and yet so close. Max felt drawn to this planet and he found himself drifting into a trance like state, his eyes were wide open, but they were glazed and his pupils seemed to have vanished from existence, he began to walk outside.

Pandora was the first one to notice that Max had left. "Max?" Pandora asked her face was filled with worry, "where are you going?"

Max didn't respond but he continued to make his way outside as though he was possessed by something. His friends followed behind him and the next thing they knew they were outside the palace not taking their eyes off this wondrous sight.

"I wonder why these two worlds are aligning?" Angel asked, she stared hopefully at Nightshade.

Nightshade stared back and it obvious from the look he gave that he didn't have a clue as to what was happening either. "No one knows why two planets align." He answered as best he could. "I guess it's just a mystery of the universe."

Pandora glared at Nightshade for his lack of answers. "You mean, not even the Kitsunes know!"

"This knowledge was lost to the Kitsunes, remember?" He stated, he turned his head round to face Pandora, his red eyes pierced into her soul.

Max suddenly snapped out of his trance, his eyes had returned to normal. "It could be an omen." He replied, he spoke in a mysterious voice, the same voice he always used when he was imparting knowledge that he wasn't always consciously aware of until the time he actually imparts it.

Everyone stared at him, too awestruck to even speak, eventually Sunny broke the silence. "An omen of what?" She asked, although some how she was dreading the answer.

"That our troubles aren't over." Max responded still in that same dream-like voice.

Out of nowhere they heard a mysterious voice echoing in the sky but coming from nowhere in particular.

"...In fact your troubles have only just begun..."

At these words Max and the others could feel a powerful wind blowing round them, the devices round their wrists began to glow and spark.

"What's happening?" Pandora yelled at the top of her lungs to make herself heard over the roaring wind.

"I don't know!" Nightshade shouted, did everyone expect him to have all the answers.

Max looked down at his now heavily sparking device. "It's the devices!" He cried out, "they're overloading!"

"How's that possible?" Sunny asked loudly, obviously freaked out by what was happening.

"This wind must be giving them too much power!" Max answered as he shouted as loudly as he could.

"What happens if they overload?!" Drogo questioned, somehow he knew the answer and was dreading it.

Max looked ruefully at the others. He hadn't thought about what would happen if the devices were given a sudden surge of power. Then again, he didn't know that this was going to happen.

"To be honest!" Max spoke as truthfully as he could. "I haven't really considered that eventually!"

Drogo glared at Max,_ "_Oh you're smart!" He bellowed, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Pandora quickly jumped to Max's defence, "this wasn't Max's fault!" Pandora retorted glaring at Drogo, "At least Max was doing something constructive with his time! What were doing?

"You mean, apart from puting notorious bad guys in jail where they belong?!" Drogo shot back.

"Will you two just shut up!" Nightshade cut in holding his head. "Can't you two have a normal conversation without exchaging insults? You're constant arguing is starting to give me a headache!"

"Sorry Nightshade!" Drogo and Pandora shouted.

"Guys!" Angel screamed, "I think there's a tornado heading this way!" Angel pointed at a swirling vortex of wind and it was heading straight for them.

They all stared in silence as the swirling wind round them became even stronger and their devices sparked even more as they began to strain under the power.

"I'm not sure how much longer these devices will hold!" Max stated as he gave his friends a worried look.

Everyone screamed when they heard Max's words. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…!!"

* * *

Meanwhile on Planet Earth, it had been a whole year since the Deep Ground Soldiers and Omega Weapon had been defeated and everyone was settling down again. However for Cloud Strife it was hard work as usual, his delivery service had become so successful lately and the phone had been ringing off the hook. In the Seventh Heaven Bar in Edge Tifa Lockheart was busy cleaning the tables and clearing out the bar for closing time. Marlene and Denzel were helping out when Cloud came walking through the door looking exhausted.

Tifa saw Cloud enter the bar and she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Cloud!" She exclaimed happy to see him again.

Cloud hugged her back and smiled, coming back home after a week of being away on deliveries was well worth while.

"Hey Tifa." Cloud replied "How's things?"

Tifa released her hold on Cloud and was about to respond when Marlene came running up and hugged Cloud tightly.

"Cloud!" Marlene shouted excitedly_ "_I'm so glad you're home!"

Cloud smiled at Marlene and picked her up and she sat on his knee._ "_Thanks Marlene," Cloud responded happily, "it's great to be back."

Cloud looked over at Denzel and saw that he was still cleaning a table. The poor kid had lost his parents to Geostigma and had contracted the disease himself, he had been living with Cloud and Tifa since, and even though he missed his parents he was very happy, if a little too quiet at times. Denzel eventually looked up and smiled at Cloud, and Cloud smiled back.

"Hey Denzel!" Cloud joked, "a gil for your thoughts?"

Denzel laughed and walked over to Cloud.

"Sorry Cloud," He said quietly, "I was a little distracted."

"I've noticed." Cloud replied his voice was filled with concern. "Are you feeling ok?"

Denzel nodded, "Yeah?" He answered and his smile left his face. "You're not thinking of leaving again are you?" He questioned not taking his eyes off Cloud.

Cloud placed Marlene back on the floor for a minute and stared intently at Denzel, he eventually shook his head.

"No," Cloud answered firmly, "this isn't like three years ago when I had Geostigma. I realise now just how much you, Tifa and Marlene mean to me. How much my family means to me."

Denzel smiled again, _"_yeah," he said in agreement, "you're always there for us when we need you, Cloud."

"Yeah, I'll never abandon my family," Cloud stated plainly, "oh Marlene before I forget,Your dad wanted me to give you this."

Cloud stood up and kneeled next to Marlene he pulled a letter out of his pocket and gave it to her, Marlene took the letter eagerly and began to read it.

_Dear Marlene, how are things at Cloud and Tifa's place? I'm sorry I haven't been down to see you for a while but you know how these things go. Coral is almost finished we just need to add a few finishing touches and then I can finally take some time off and come and see you alright. _

_Love from Dad._

"Daddy's finally going to be coming!" Marlene squealed in excitment. "Can you believe that?"

Tifa smiled at Marlene, seeing her and Denzel happy was what Tifa wanted. "I most certainly can," She said her smile now turned to a stern stare "Now come on you two, the deal was you could stay up until Cloud came home."

Marlene stared wide eyed at Cloud. "Do we really have to go to bed?" She asked sadly.

Tifa looked at Cloud and he smiled slyly at her. Marlene was a sweet kid but she had a wild imagination like all kids her age and Cloud knew exactly what to do to make her go to bed.

"No of course not." Cloud replied smiling at Marlene, Tifa glared at him._ "_We're just gonna be talking about mushy stuff, right Tifa?" He said playfully as he chased Tifa round the table and eventually caught her. He held Tifa round the waist and started kissing her on the neck. Tifa laughed and she smiled at Marlene. Marlene stared back at them with a disgusted look on her face.

"Eeeewwwww….yuck!" Marlene pulled her tongue out at this._ "_Right I'm going to bed, you coming Denzel?" She asked as she stared at him.

"Yeah," Denzel answered as he followed Marlene out of the room,_ "_night Cloud, night Tifa."

"Night you two." Cloud and Tifa responded, a minute or so later Marlene and Denzel had disappeared upstairs. Cloud released Tifa and she smiled at him.

_"Y_ou sure do know how to clear out a room." Tifa replied jokingly.

Cloud grinned at Tifa, "I just know what kids are like." He said smugly, "I know they hate mushy stuff." Cloud's grin disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, he sighed and hung his head as his exhaustion started to kick in.

"You look exhausted." Tifa sad her voice was filled with concern.

"I feel exhausted." Was all Cloud said he sat down at the table again and rested his head on his arms.

Tifa walked over to the table and sat down next to him, she took hold of his hand and he looked up at her.

"Have you ever thought of taking a break?" She asked, not taking her eyes off him.

Cloud shook his head and stared at Tifa in disbelief._ "_Tifa," He said his voice filled with shock. "I can't take a break. Everyone's counting on me, I can't let them down."

"Well, you're no use to anybody while you're exhausted." Tifa replied sternly, "everyone needs to take a break every once in while, including you."

Cloud sighed, he knew that Tifa had a point, he was pushing himself too hard, but at the same time it gave him a sense of purpose. He was finally getting his life back on track, but maybe Tifa was right, a little break would do him good.

Cloud smiled at Tifa, "You're right," He admited, "I shouldn't go on like this. I think I will take a break."

Tifa smiled back, "well good, I'm glad you see things my way, for once."

"Ha, ha, remind me to laugh." Cloud muttered sarcastically.

Tifa glared at him, "I was being serious."

"I know," Cloud stated, "So...any calls?"

"Well, Reeve called," Tifa answered, "he said that everything was fine in Kalm. He wanted to know how you were getting on."

"I'm doing great." Cloud responded, he smiled but deep down he was feeling exhausted.

"He said he wanted to meet up with you sometime."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Cloud kissed Tifa on the cheek. "I think I'll go do some travelling for a while you know, to clear my head."

Tifa smiled at him, this was the best idea he ever had._ "T_hat's a brilliant idea." Tifa said encouragingly. "That might be just what you need."

"If anyone calls…" Cloud started to speak but Tifa interrupted him.

"Tell them you're away, I know."

Cloud grinned at Tifa, he knew he could rely on her, like always._ "_Will you be ok staying here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Tifa said reassuringly, "besides I have Marlene and Denzel keeping me company."

Cloud _l_aughed_ "y_eah," he responded, he was determined to do this. "I'm gonna set off first thing tomorrow morning." Held her round the waistand kissed her on the neck. "Just try not to miss me too much." He said playfully.

Tifa also laughed,_ "_don't flatter yourself." She retorted.

Cloud released her, "well, I'm gonna go to bed." He yawned, "you coming?"

Tifa also yawned, "yeah, I'll just be a minute."

Cloud walked through the back and disappeared up the stairs. Tifa stayed downstairs for a moment and looked round the bar before turning the light off and following Cloud upstairs.

* * *

Back on the Kitsune World.

"…aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

The devices stopped sparking and continued to glow intently. The glow on the devices was so intense that they all had to shield their eyes.

"Oh shit!" max cursed loudly, "that's not good!"

"What's going on?" Pandora asked him.

"The devices have been activated!" Max answered as he gave her a worried stare, "but with this amount of power they're unpredictable!"

"And what does that mean exactly?" Drogo questioned as he glared evilly at Max.

"I don't know!" Max shot back, "this has never happened before!"

"Max we have to…" Nightshade started.

Nightshade didn't get the chance to finish his sentence because they were all engulfed in a bright white light and they could feel their feet being launched off the ground as they were being sucked into the tornado, the devices glowed even more intensely as Max and the others were being teleported. Where they were going no one knew but it wasn't long before dizziness began to sink in.

"Oh, I feel dizzy." Sunny stated hazily, she hung her head to avoid being sick.

"Sunny! Try to stay focused!" Drogo shouted trying to get Sunny to snap out of it.

"Quick!" Max cried out, "everybody hold hands!"

Max grabbed hold of Pandora's hand and Pandora grabbed hold of Angel's until everyone was holding hands. Wherever they were going they weren't going to get separated. However the force of the wind round them was so strong that it wasn't long before everyone was loosing their grip.

Pandora started to let go of Max's hand,_ "_I'm slipping!" She yelled as she struggled to tighten her grip.

"Pandora!" Max shouted, he to tried to tighten his grip round Pandora's hand but he found that his grip was loosening as well,_ "_Hang on! everyone, whatever you do…don't let go!"

But that was easier said than done and it wasn't long before everyone had lost their grip and were flung apart before disappearing.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs but no one could hear them.

* * *

**That's it for chapter 1, what happens next? Find out in chapter 2 which is coming soon. This is my first fanfic, I hope it's ok. **


	2. A Whole New World

**Chapter 2: A whole New World**

It had been over a week since Cloud left the city of Edge to go travelling, Tifa had agreed to hold the fort while he was away and tell everyone that he wouldn't be making any deliveries for while. Cloud left early the very next morning just after he had refilled the fuel tank on his bike Fenrir. After spending four hours travelling along the Western Continent Cloud had decided to stop at Nibelheim for a little while. He was now walking along the street looking round him, the town was pretty much back to normal since the fire over eight years ago but Cloud still got an uncomfortable feeling whenever he thought about it.

"Well this place hasn't changed much since Shinra had rebuilt it," Cloud stated as helooked around at the people going about their daily business, buying and selling goods. "Still something's off though, even though it was restored to exactly how it was before the fire, it's not the Nibelheim I once knew."

Cloud so was wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice an old woman pushing passed him with a tray full of potions.

"Watch out laddie!" The old woman yelled, "can't you see this is the busiest day of the week for us?"

"Oh…sorry," Cloud apologised "I was just…"

"In your own little world," The woman finished his sentence for him. "I understand laddie. I drift in and out all the time."

Cloud stared at the old woman as though she had a screw loose. "Right…sure." However he moved aside so that the old woman could get passed him.

"Thanks laddie," She replied gratefully, and she walked off.

"You're welcome," Cloud responded politely, he shivered at what the old woman said, and when he was sure she was out of earshot he added under his breath. "I hope I don't become senile when I get to that age."

Cloud continued to walk down the street and he passed a house that looked familiar to him, Tifa's childhood home. Next to Tifa's old house was his own, Cloud felt a single teardrop in his eye as memories of his childhood flooded his mind and he had a sudden urge to just enter the houses he once knew just to get a clear memory of what they looked like but Cloud resisted. They didn't belong to him and Tifa anymore, someone else now lives in the houses and it wouldn't be right to just barge into someone else's private property. Besides this wasn't the Nibelheim he remembered anymore, the Nibelheim he knew was destroyed in the fire and nothing could bring it back. To him now, Nibelheim was just another nameless town. Cloud managed to pull himself away from the remnants of his old life and he carried on walking until he came across a building he hoped he'd never had to see again.

"The Shinra Mansion," Cloud whispered faintly, and a shiver ran down his spine, a feeling he always got whenever this place was mentioned, but now that he was standing right outside that dreaded place, those uncomfortable feelings were intensified.

The Shinra Mansion, the only building in Nibelheim that wasn't destroyed by the fire and was the beginning of Cloud's nightmares, and just standing in front of the building was enough to conjure up memories Cloud had tried so hard to forget.

"I hoped I would never have to see this place again." He continued, great now he was talking to himself, he had always wondered whether talking to one's self was a sign of madness, not that it made much difference to him. "But I wanted to see what happened to Nibelheim. Now that I know it's ok, I can move on."

Cloud turned round and was about to walk away from the Shinra Mansion when he was struck by a blinding light.

Cloud had to shield his eyes through fear of being blinded._ "_What the hell…?" He cursed under his breath.

Cloud slowly opened his eyes and looked to the sky just in time to see something crash through the roof of the Shinra Mansion.

"What was that?" He asked himself, he looked behind him, hoping that he wasn't the only one who had noticed the object falling out of the sky and he was dismayed to see that everyone was still carrying on as normal. Cloud sighed to himself,_ "f_igures, no one in this town notices anything, it could have been another meteor and they'd still go about their daily business." Cloud looked back towards the mansion and gulped nervously._ "_That thing could have been anything," Cloud stated as his hand instinctively reached for the sword on his back, but he didn't unsheath it. "I guess it's up to me to investigate, even though I promised myself that I'd never set foot inside this place again."

Cloud crept slowly up to the entrance and opened the door, the door opened with a loud creak, he stepped inside and gently closed the door behind him. The hall was dark and Cloud almost stumbled a few times as he felt for the light switch. Eventually he found the switch and light flooded the room.

"And so we have light." He muttered, but his voice echoed loudly in the vast hallway, Cloud looked around him but he saw nothing out of the ordinary._ "_Hmmmm," Cloud thought to himself, "everything looks normal in here."

He walked to the room on his left and opened the door, the room was smaller than the previous one, the only furniture that was in the room was a grand piano, other than that there was nothing strange or out of the ordinary.

"It looks normal in here too."

Cloud searched all the rooms downstairs but found nothing unusual, so he proceeded upstairs. He turned to his left and entered the safe room. The safe was still open since Cloud came here last time but other than that there was nothing else here. Cloud searched the bedroom and continued down to the right checking every room until he entered the room with the secret staircase. Much to Cloud's disappointment there was a hole where the entrance to the staircase was, whatever that thing was, it landed in the basement.

Cloud sighedheavily, it was in that basement where things had started to go wrong, Sephiroth's descent to insanity, his five year imprisonment, every bad thing that Cloud could think of occured in that basement, but Cloud knew that he had no choice, he just had to bite the bullet and face his fears. The man responsible for all of this was dead and he was never coming back. "I guess I have to go down into the basement again." Cloud said not bothering to hide the fear and disappointment in his voice. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to go down there again."

Cloud walked down the stairs, he grabbed his sword from his back and held it out in front of him, he had no idea of what this thing was and whether or not it was dangerous. Cloud walked down the last step and saw an unconscious form lying near the entrance to the coffin room where he had first met Vincent. He crept up to the unconscious creature, it was humanoid in appearance but something was wrong. It had five tails sticking out the seat of its pants, Cloud jumped back when he heard soft moaning coming from the creature, it was waking up.

"Oh…"

Cloud held his sword above his head ready to strike at the creature that was just getting to its knees, it turned round and stared at Cloud with bright blue eyes. Cloud brought the sword back over his head and was in the process of bringing it down on the creature's head but he couldn't move it any further, something was blocking the sword.

"Put the sword down!" The creature yelled there was a hint of fear in his voice. "I mean you no harm!"

Cloud stared at the creature his eyes were wide with shock and for a while he couldn't speak. "Y...you...can...talk!" Was all he could utter.

_"_Well what gave you you're first clue?" The creature muttered sarcastically as he staggered slowly to his feet and turned to face Cloud.

Cloud stepped a few paces back but he obeyed the creature and put his sword away. For the first time Cloud took a closer look at him to find that he was fox like in appearance with sea green fur, his blue eyes glowed brightly in the dimly lit tunnel. His green spiky hair stuck out in all directions as though it was forgotten by gravity. He was dressed for the most part in black, but wore a purple shirt under his tunic. His five tails stuck out the back of his pants.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked, his curiosity soon out weighed his fear.

"The name's Max." Max answered, he hadn't moved an inch his eyes were still focused on Cloud.

Cloud found himself staring at ax's tails and was shocked that he had several tails, five to be exact. "Errrr…"

"Is it about my tails?" Max questioned before Cloud could even speak. Max knew the look Cloud was giving him, he had been through that all his life, but it doesn't bother him to the same extent anymore.

Cloud grinned sheepishly_ "_well…yeah," He answered carefully, not wishing to offend Max, fortunately Max didn't seem to be offended.

Max sighed and he looked at Cloud, his gaze wasn't angry but it made Cloud feel uncomfortable nevertheless._ "_I'm a Kitsune," Max explained, Cloud gave Max a blank stare and it was obvious to him that Cloud din't know what a Kitsune was, so he continued. "A Kitsune is a race of multi-tailed foxes."

"Race?" Cloud quizzed Max, "you mean there's more than one of you out there?"

Max nodded, "yes," came the reply, "but they're on another world, besides…who are you?"

"I'm Cloud."

"Cloud?" Max tried hard to stifle his laughter. "That's a strange name."

"Well I've seen stranger things," Cloud retorted, "one of them is standing in front of me."

"Ha, ha …" Max laughed sarcastically, but that was quickly replaced by his overwhelming sense of curiosity. ""hat are you?" Max asked, "I don't think I've seen any of your kind before."

"I'm a human," Cloud answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, but after seeing Max's blank stare, it became clear to Cloud that Max had never seen a human before. "Aren't there humans on your world?"

Max shook his head,_ "_nope," He replied.

Cloud was about to open his mouth to respond when he heard moaning and the sound of something dragging itself across the floor.

Cloud stared hopefully at Max,_ "_please tell me you heard that too."

Max nodded,_ "_yeah I heard it," Max responded, "heads up here it comes!"

Cloud and Max withdrew their swords and stood in fighting stances just in time to see a zombie dragging itself towards them.

Max stared at the zombie with a disgusted look on his face. "That's not something I really want to see when I first wake up," He replied visibly repulsed by the creature.

Cloud stared in awe at Max's sword._ "_Nice sword," Cloud complemented, "are you sure you know how to use it?"

"Yeah, let's put this ugly pile of crap out of its misery."

Max and Cloud charged forwards, their swords thrust out in front of them lusting for blood. Cloud jumped into the air his sword held behind him and struck down on the zombie slicing it in half with a Braver attack.

Cloud held his fist in the air, "Yes!" He shouted happily, "Huh?"

Cloud stared in shock as the two halves of the zombie came together and reformed.

"Yeah, slice it in half. That will work wonders," Max stated sarcastically.

Cloud gave Max an evil glare,_ "_you got any better ideas, smart ass?" Cloud demanded.

"Yeah as a matter of fact, I do," Max answered smugly, "but it would involve us working together, alright."

Cloud nodded, "alright, let's take this thing down together."

Cloud and Max began to change their tactics, Cloud performed Cross-slash on the zombie and stunned it, Max then ran up and started hacking away at the zombie cutting off both its arms and legs and for a while that attack seemed to work. Max and Cloud ran round the room to locate and destroy all the limbs before the zombie could pull itself together.

"I think that's all of them," Cloud panted as he severed one of the zombie's legs.

Max shook his head, "no, there's one more, there's a hand missing and whoa!"

Max cried out as a severed hand reached out and grabbed his leg causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground and drop his sword. The hand started dragging him across the floor.

"Max!" Cloud yelled, "Hang on!"

Cloud ran up to Max and with the blunt side of his sword batted the hand off Max's leg and caused it to go flying and landing heavily against the far wall and slid down the wall and landed with a splat on the floor. Cloud helped Max to his feet and Max quickly grabbed his sword.

"Thanks," Max said gratefully, "I think the zombie has pulled itself together again."

Max and Cloud heard a scream behind them and they turned to see the zombie standing there once again fully formed.

"Damn," Cloud cursed, "I don't remember zombies doing that!"

"Some zombies can reform themselves if their body parts get severed," Max explained.

"We have to slice it into tiny piece and destroy them quickly," Cloud stated.

Max nodded in agreement, "yeah."

Max and Cloud resumed fighting but the zombie was ready for their sword strikes and dodged each one and began attacking back furiously. Fortunately its attacks were slow and clumsy and Max and Cloud could easily dodge it. Cloud continued to hack away at the zombie but Max just stood there with his eyes shut.

Cloud stared at Max,_ "_Max I need your help," Cloud pleaded he ran up to Max and began shaking him._ "_Max!"

Max opened his eyes and grinned at Cloud.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"Let's strike him at the same time," Max suggested

"But we already tried that," Cloud stated shaking his head, "it won't work."

Max grinned again, "trust me, it'll work this time."

Cloud: nodded, "ok, you get in front of it and I'll go behind it."

Max walked in front of the zombie while Cloud crept behind it, they both had their swords ready, and Cloud was shocked to see that his sword was glowing white.

"Hey Max!" Cloud yelled, "what did you do to my…?"

"I'll explain later" Max replied, "now on the count of three we both strike ok, 1...2...3...!"

Max and Cloud both dug their swords into the zombie at the same time. It cried out in pain as light burst through it causing it to explode. Cloud and Max were covered in the zombie's residue.

"Yuck!" Max cried out in disgusted as his tunic was covered in goo.

"I think I'll have a shower when I get myself into an inn," Cloud calmly stated.

"Yeah…" Max agreed unnerved at how Cloud could remain so calm about being covered in zombie residue.

Cloud stared at Max, "look," He said not forgetting that Max was still an alien that needed to be questioned, "we still need to talk, but not here."

"Apart from the zombie attacking us, is there any other reason?"

Cloud sighed and hung his head,_ "_this place brings back a lot of bad memories," he answered sadly.

"Oh, I see," Max stated sympathetically. "Well after that experience it's no wonder."

Cloud shook his head, "no, something happened here nine years ago that I'd just rather forget."

"Yeah…I can agree with that logic."

" Just one question though," Cloud asked curiously, there was something he wanted to know. "When you had your eyes shut what were you doing?"

Max grinned at Cloud, _"_I was meditating," He answered smugly, "I put Holy power in both our swords. Zombies are weak against Holy power."

Max almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice suddenly speak in his head._ "_Well…looks like someone's got brains. It's a good job Cloud didn't kill him after all." The voice sounded like it was coming from a young male, perhaps in his early 20s. The voice sounded playful and mischievous.

It only took a few seconds for Max to get over the shock. "Ok…" Max said in his head, "first of all I can hear you guys. Second, Cloud's not an idiot."

"He can hear us?"

"He's psychic," A second voice joined in, only it was female this time, again young sounding and possibly in her early 20s she sounded more mature than the first voice. "Sorry about Zack, he's new to this sort of thing."

"Hey! I resent that!" Zack yelled in Max's head.

Cloud stared at Max, "you can hear the dead?" He questioned.

Max nodded, "yes, I can hear the dead." He answered, "I hear my mother's voice nearly all the time."

"You can hear your mother's voice?"

"Yeah."

"How did she die?"

Max hung his head sadly, "it's a long story."

"How's that possible?" Cloud asked curiously, "how can you hear the dead?"

Max opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted.

"I guess Kitsunes can read minds," The female voice stated, "and they can hear the dead, just like the Cetra could."

"Aerith," Zack asked a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "don't you ever get tired of knowing everything?"

"No," Came the reply.

Zack was about to make a come back when Max interrupted them. "Hey guys! Stop arguing ok."

Zack and Aerith both spoke at the same time, "we weren't arguing."

"Really…" Max replied sceptically, "it sounded like arguing to me."

"Listen…" Zack cut in, "Max isn't it?"

"Yeah," Max replied.

"When you have a girlfriend," Zack continued, "you'll understand."

"I'm married."

"Oh that's so sweet!" Aerith exclaimed happily

"Look guys," Max spoke firmly to the voices of the two spirits in his head, "as much as I enjoy talking to…spirits or whatever it is that you are. You're kind of getting on my nerves a bit so err… please leave my head."

"Oh ok…" Zack responded not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice, but he quickly cheered up again, "but we'll be back though."

"Anytime you need us," Aerith cut in, "we'll be there."

"Or if you just want to talk…" Zack continued.

"Yeah…" Max said in his head, "I'll look you up sometime."

"Tell Cloud we said hi," Aerith requested.

Zack and Aerith disappeared from Max's head.

"Can we please get out of here?" Cloud asked a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Sure," Max agreed, "I'll explain everything."

Cloud walked up the stairs and out of the mansion, Max followed behind him.

* * *

It was late at night in the city of Edge and Drogo was walking down the abandoned streets with a confused look on his face. Drogo woke up a few hours ago and found himself in a dumpster. He had been wandering round the streets of Edge trying to find at least something that would look even vaguely familiar to him. 

"What is this place?" Drogo asked himself. "It looks like a dump." _D_rogo dodged round the odd passer by and stared at them warily in case they got any ideas of trying to mug him "Where is everyone? Where's Sunny?"

Drogo found himself thinking about Sunny, he hadn't seen her since they were separated, and now he was on a strange world separated from his friends and had no way of contacting them.

"I can't give up now," Drogo stated defiantly, "they have to be around here somewhere, I just have to find them. Maybe a little Sake will help to boost my spirits." Drogo looked down at his belt and found that his flask of Sake was missing. "Great," He mumbled angrily to himself, "why is there never any Sake when you need it? I guess I'll have to find some."

Drogo continued walking until he came across a building with a statue of an Angel on the roof, Drogo shook his head at it. Whoever lived here had some strange tastes. Drogo leaned on the door and fell through it, someone had forgotten to lock the door.

"Owwww…_ " _Drogo cried out in pain and staggered to his feet. "These people obviously don't understand the concept of locking their doors when they go to bed."

Drogo searched for a light switch and the room was filled with light, he found himself standing in a bar. The room was deserted and Drogo guessed that it must have been closing time.

"That's strange, the bars on Terra Firma never close. Unless it's different here. In that case I'll just help myself to some Sake, they won't miss one bottle."

Drogo jumped over the bar and started looking round but couldn't find any Sake anywhere.

"There has to be some Sake somewhere."

He continued to search but still couldn't find any Sake. Drogo was unaware of the amount of noise he was making. Meanwhile upstairs Marlene was woken up by a loud noise downstairs.

"That sounds like someone breaking in," She whispered to herself, she tried hard to contain her fright.

Marlene threw the covers off her, darted out of bed and ran out of the room running head long in to Denzel.

"Denzel?"

"Marlene, what are you doing out here?"

"I heard a noise downstairs," Marlene answered.

Denzel stared at Marlene, "you heard it too?"

"Yeah, why did you?"

"Yeah," Denzel replied, "we should tell Tifa."

Denzel and Marlene ran into Tifa's room, they crept up to her bed and started shaking her.

"Tifa? Tifa…wake up!"

Tifa moaned as she stirred and stared bleary eyed at Marlene and Denzel.

"Marlene, Denzel…"Tifa asked sleepily, "what are you doing in here?"

Marlene grabbed hold of Tifa's hand,_ "_we heard something downstairs. Someone might have broken in!"

"Marlene," Tifa reassured her, "you were just having a nightmare."

Denzel grabbed Tifa's other hand, "it's true Tifa, I heard it too."

Marlene and Denzel both spoke at the same time, "Come on Tifa!"

Tifa sighed, "alright, I'll go down and see what's going on."

Tifa crawled out of bed and Marlene and Denzel left the room as Tifa got changed into her regular clothes. She then opened the draw at the side of her bed and reached for her gloves, she put them on and walked out of the room. Tifa was shocked by the loud noise.

"See," Marlene stated fearfully, "I told you, there's something down there."

"Alright, listen," Tifa told Marlene and Denzel, "you and Denzel stay here, I'm gonna go downstairs and investigate, ok."

"Ok, be careful Tifa," Marlene replied.

Tifa nodded to Marlene and Denzel and walked slowly down the stairs, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a frying pan hanging from the wall and put it on her belt. She then proceeded down the hall and slowly opened the door to the bar. She looked into the room and saw a shadowy figure behind the bar.

Tifa spoke quietly to herself, "so Marlene and Denzel were right, someone has broken in. I have to stop them.""

Tifa crept into the bar, the intruder still had his back to her this was her chance to get the upper hand on him. Tifa aimed to punch the intruder on the back of the head to knock him out but he seemed to have other ideas. He turned to face Tifa fists at the ready.

Tifa threw herself forward and pulled her fist back aiming to punch the intruder in the face, but he jumped to the side just in time. Tifa realised her mistake and launched a combo of punches and kicked at the trespasser, which he could barely block.

The intruder spoke in his head,_ "_damn this girl's fast, and powerful too."

The intruder cried out in pain as Tifa dug both her feet into his stomach and performed a somersault one of her feet kicked him in the chin as she went over. The intruder performed a triple kick combo, he kicked her in the face and stomach and was about to do a sweeping kick under Tifa's legs to trip her up but she jumped just in time. Tifa grabbed hold of the intruder, jumped high into the air and threw him to the ground, he slammed heavily into the floor, unable to move.

"Owwww…" he moaned in pain.

Tifa landed gracefully on the ground next to him, she walked over to the trespasser and sat on him. She now had the opportunity to take a closer look at him and was shocked to discover that he was a humanoid hedgehog with purple fur, light purple fringe spikes. He wore mostly blue, his waistcoat and pants were slightly damaged in the fight, but not much. The spines on his back were sticking straight out and were almost digging into Tifa's leg. The intruder started struggling wildly.

"Hey!" He cried out trying to throw Tifa off him. "Get off me!"

Tifa jumped back with a yell,_ "_you just talked!"

The intruder slowly sat up,_ "y_eah…" he mumbled satrically, "what did you think I was, an animal?"

Tifa stared at the intruder, "this isn't happening, this is just a dream."

"Yeah…" The intruder stated in response, "I've been thinking the same thing, but I'm real."

Tifa felt round her waist and she remembered the frying pan on her belt. She removed it and crept up on the intruder, the frying pan was held high over her head aiming to hit the intruder over the head with it and knock him out. However the intruder was one step ahead of her, he withdrew both of his Kitanas and slashed to the side Tifa let go of the pan in shock as the handle was cleanly severed from the pan and fell to the floor, Tifa dropped the pan.

"How did you do that?" Tifa questioned half impressed, half fearful.

"I'm trained in using two Kitanas," The intruder replied boastfully.

"I see…I'm Tifa by the way."

"The names Drogo."

"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked, her fear was replaced by curiosity.

"I didn't break in if that's what you mean," Drogo answered quickly.

"Then how did you get in here?" Tifa questioned.

Drogo pointed to the door,_ "_the door was unlocked," He replied, "I was leaning on it and I fell through. I was just looking for some Sake, I wasn't going to steal anything."

"Oh…" Tifa responded to Drogo, "we're sold out of Sake."

Drogo stared at Tifa in disbelief._ "_No Sake..."

Tifa shook her head, "sorry, we sold out this morning."

"When does your next shipment come in?"

Tifa thought for a while before answering,_ "_let's see, I should get some more Sake on Friday."

Drogo continued to stare at her, "Friday?"

Tifa nodded, "that's two days from now." She stated.

Drogo moaned at this, "you mean I have to wait two days for a bottle of Sake!"

"Well you could have another drink while you're waiting," Tifa suggested helpfully, but at the same time she found it strange to be in the presence of a hedgehog who was partial to alcohol.

Drogo thought for a while then nodded, one drink was better than not having one at all and he was in a bar after all. He walked over to the bar and sat down on a stool, Tifa walked behind the bar.

"So what can I get you?" Tifa asked him in her typical barmaid voice.

"Do you have anything that's as weak as Sake?"

"We have white wine."

"I'll have a glass of that then."

Tifa poured Drogo a glass of white wine and gave it to him; he then downed it in one gulp.

"Thanks," Drogo said gratefully as he put the empty glass back down on the bar. "I guess I owe a few pounds."

Tifa gave Drogo a blank stare. "What are pounds?" She asked.

Drogo stared at Tifa in shock, "you don't know what pounds are?"

Tifa shook her head,_ "_I've never heard of it." She replied.

Drogo pulled some coins out of his pocket and showed them to Tifa._ "_This is what pounds are." He stated.

Tifa gazed curiously at the coins in Drogo's hand,_ "_we don't have anything like that here."

"Then what's the currency here?" Drogo questioned

"Gil." Came the reply.

Drogo put his coins back into his pocket and merely shrugged, "oh, I'm sorry," He apologised, "I don't have any gil."

Tifa laughed heartily, "that's alright, that drink was on me."

"Oh, thanks…I guess."

Drogo and Tifa heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs and Denzel and Marlene entered the bar.

"Tifa!" Marlene ran up to Tifa and hugged her, "are you ok?"

Tifa smiled at Marlene, "it's ok, Marlene," Tifa said reassuringly.

Drogo looked at Denzel who was standing at the door to Marlene who was currently at Tifa's side, and back to Tifa again._ "_Those aren't your kids, are they?" He quizzed not taking his eyes off Tifa. "I mean you look too young to be a mother."

"I just look after them," Tifa answered.

Drogo nodded to show that he understood. "I see."

Marlene stared curiously at Drogo, "who's he?" She asked enquiringly.

"Marlene, Denzel," Tifa replied, "this is Drogo." Tifa pointed to Drogo as she said this.

Marlene released her hold on Tifa and walked over to Drogo,_ "_He sure is funny looking," Marlene stated.

"So are you," Drogo retorted.

Tifa left the bar and walked into the back, she came back into the bar carrying a book, she opened the book and gave it to Drogo.

"Here," Tifa said as she pointed to the page, "this is what a hedgehog is supposed to look like."

Drogo looked at the page and saw a picture of a small, brown, spiky animal.

Drogo began to read the page._ "_A hedgehog is a small insect eating animal that curls up into a ball when threatened…" Drogo laughed at this._ "_That's what a hedgehog may look like here on your world," Drogo said as he contained his laughter, "but where I come from, hedgehogs are a very different thing altogether."

"Do all the…species on your world look like you?" Tifa quizzed.

"The hedgehogs do, yeah." Drogo answered, "but there's a wide range of species on my world."

"So you behave exactly like humans do?"

Drogo gave Tifa a confused look. "What are humans?"

"That's what we are silly!" Marlene yelled playfully as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Alright Marlene," Tifa ushered her out of the room. "I'll take care of it. You and Denzel go to bed."

Marlene sighed looking disappointed, "oh ok…bye Drogo."

"Yeah, see ya."

Marlene and Denzel disappeared upstairs and Tifa continued to stare at Drogo.

"So what do you do for a living?" She asked inqusitively.

"Oh, I'm a cop," Drogo responded proudly, "but before that I was a thief."

"You were a thief?"

"Yeah," Drogo grinned arrogantly,_ "_not just any thief though, I was the King of Thieves."

Tifa laughed at Drogo and he gave her an evil glare.

"What's so funny?" He demanded.

"You can't be a thief," Tifa said trying to contain her laughter, "if you were…"

"You don't think I was a thief eh?" Drogo cut in, "Watch this!"

Drogo stood up and back flipped onto one of the tables behind him, he then jumped to the nearest wall and kicked off it landing on the spinning fan on the ceiling. Drogo jumped from fan to fan and landed on another table he then ran outside and frontal flipped onto a lamppost he crouched down and jumped kicking off the walls and landing on the roof of the Seventh Heaven. Tifa ran out to watch. Drogo performed another back flip and landed on top of the angel statue. He then crouched and launched himself off the statue; he pulled out one of his swords while in mid air and placed it underneath him. The blade stuck into the ground and Drogo landed with both feet on the hilt perfectly balanced, he grabbed hold of the hilt and jumped landing safely on the ground. Drogo sheathed his sword and grinned at Tifa who was just staring at him in awe.

"Well…what did you think of that?" Drogo folded his arms and gave her a smug, complacent stare.

"That was amazing!" Tifa admitted. "How did you do that?"

"I used to be a thief remember?" Drogo answered, "thieves have to be flexible if they are to succeed in heists."

"I guess I stand corrected."

Drogo and Tifa walked back into the bar and for the first time in a while Drogo remembered Sunny.

"Hey, Tifa." Drogo found himself asking, "you haven't seen a girl named Sunny around here, have you?"

Tifa shook her head. "Sorry I haven't. What does she look like?"

"She's a hedgehog like me." Drogo explained, "she has peach coloured fur, brown eyes, wears a lot of blue. She wields a bow. She's not very strong physically but she can summon pretty powerful monsters.

Tifa's eyes lit up, "oh, she has lots of materia?" She asked.

Drogo looked confused, "what's materia?"

Tifa smiled warmly at Drogo, "I'm guessing you don't have materia on your world." Drogo shook his head so Tifa continued._ "_Materia are small orbs that grant the user the ability to cast magic."

Drogo thought about this, "I see, where can you find materia?"

Tifa shrugged her shoulders, "you can find it almost any where, at the moment a friend of mine, Yuffie has our materia."

"She's a thief right?" Drogo questioned curiously.

Tifa nodded, "yes, how did you guess?"

Drogo grinned at her, "just a wild stab in the dark, so how did she end up joining you?"

"We caught her," Tifa replied with a sigh.

"By being caught do you mean you found her unconscious in a river?"

Tifa shook her head,_ "_no, we caught stealing our money and materia."

Drogo laughed, "then she can't have been a very good thief," He stated boastfully.

"Why did you ask about whether we found her in a river?"

"That's how my friends found me," Drogo explained a hint of both anger and sadness in his voice. "My ex best friend and second in command set up a mutiny, it was either jump off the cliff or face death. My friends found me and nursed me back to health, of course my new best friend, Lance put these things called nanites inside me to control me."

Tifa nodded to show that she understood, "is that when you met Sunny?"

Drogo shook his head, "no, I met Sunny long after that. When we searching for our friend Max who was shot two years previously."

"I see."

"Look, Tifa," Drogo sounded serious for the first time that night, "as much as I enjoy talking to you, I need to find Sunny and my friends."

Drogo started to walk out of the bar but Tifa stopped him.

"Wait! You can't go now!"

Drogo turned round and stared at her, "why not?"

"It's dark outside," Tifa replied out of concern for Drogo's safety, "there are lots of monsters that come out at night."

Drogo snorted with laughter, "I'm not afraid of monsters. I've fought some tough and ugly monsters."

"I'm sure you have, but even if you can fight off all the monsters, you don't even know where Sunny is."

"I'll travel round the whole world if I have to," Drogo stated a look of pure determination on his face. "I will find her."

Tifa sighed, she knew that there was nothing she could say that would make Drogo change his mind. "Alright, but can you at least wait till tomorrow?" She suggested.

Drogo stared at Tifa, he wanted so much to search for Sunny, to hold her in his arms again, but as much as he hated to admit it he knew that Tifa was right.

"I guess I have no other choice since you're blocking the exit," He said finally.

"There's a spare room upstairs if you want it."

"Yeah, thanks."

"You're welcome," Tifa replied, "get some sleep and then maybe tomorrow we can find Sunny and the rest of your friends."

"Yeah, hey, don't forget to lock the door, Tifa."

"I won't," Tifa responded as she put the key in the lock and turned it, the door was now locked. _"_Well, I'm gonna go to bed now. You coming?"

Drogo yawned "yeah."

Drogo followed Tifa behind the bar and walked up the stairs, Tifa took one last look round the bar, turned the lights off and walked upstairs. She led Drogo down the hallway and opened a door.

"Here's the spare bedroom," She stated helpfully, "I hope it's ok."

Drogo entered the room and looked around, the room was only basic, but at least it was clean. The wall paper was white with floral patterns, a single bed with a plain white duvet and pillows was leaning against the wall underneath a small window. There was a large wooden wardrobe opposite the bed and a chest of draws next to the wardrobe.

"Yeah, this will be fine," Drogo replied gratefully, _"_thanks."

"No problem, well goodnight Drogo."

"Goodnight Tifa."

Tifa walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, Drogo removed his swords and laid them gently at the side of his bed. He kicked his boots off and took off his waistcoat and shirt, he then crawled into the covers and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Tifa entered her room and changed back into her night clothes, it had been a strange night for her, she had seen some strange things in the past five years, but a giant humanoid hedgehog who was capable of human speech was by far one of the strangest things she had ever seen.

"Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow and all this will be a dream."

Tifa turned the bedside lamp off, lay back on the pillow, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**Well that's it for chapter 2, sorry it's a bit long but it was quite an action-packed chapter. Chapter 3 is coming soon. Tell me what you think, remember this is my first fanfiction so please don't slay me. If you want to criticise me, make sure it's constructive criticism.**


	3. New Friends

**Chapter 3: New Friends**

It was approaching seven o clock at night in Nibelheim, Cloud and Max had found themselves a room at the inn. The room was quite big for saying it was an inn in a relatively small town, Max and Cloud had both chosen their beds and Cloud went for a shower to wash off the zombie residue. That was over ten minutes ago now and Cloud was sat on his bed waiting for Max to finish in the shower. Cloud thought about what had happened that night and he found it to be a very strange evening. He knew that there were strange things going in that mansion but he never expected this, now he was sharing a room with a strange creature.

Cloud sighed to himself,_ "_this has not been my day," He said quietly to himself, "who knows, maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and find that this had all been a dream."

Cloud looked up when he heard the bathroom door opening and a ¼ naked Max walked out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel all five of his tails were frizzed out. Cloud tried hard to stifle his laughter but was unnerved as the last remnants of false hope that all this was a dream left his mind.

"So…" Cloud spoke up, "you're a Kitsune, right?"

Max sat down on his bed and began to de-frizz his tails, "yeah," He answered.

"And that's a race of fox like creatures with multiple tails, right?" Cloud asked again.

Max nodded in response, "yes."

Cloud sighed and placed his head in his hands.

Max stared at Cloud, "What's wrong, Cloud?"

Cloud looked up at Max,_ "_I don't know Max," he answered, "it's just that…you're not supposed to be here, I mean creatures…like you," he pointed at Max's tails,_ "_only exist in fairy tales."

"Well believe it or not, I do exist."

Cloud nodded, "how did you end up here?"

Max shrugged his shoulders,_ "_I don't know," was all he said, "one minute I was showing my teleportation devices to my friends and the next…"

"Teleportation devices?"

"Oh," Max showed Cloud the teleportation device which was no badly damaged,_ "_I invented it myself, but it must have gotten damaged in the storm."

"A storm?" Cloud enquired.

Max laughed slightly, "well…at least I think it was a storm, there was a lot of wind. We saw a planet in the sky."

"How can you see a planet?"

"Every 300 years or so," Max explained, "it's said that two distant planets align. I don't know why it happens, it just does. That's when…the teleportation devices went all funny. Now I'm separated from my friends."

"So that's how you ended up here?"

Max nodded, "yeah…wait a minute," his eyes lit up as realisation hit him, "the planet I saw in the sky, that was this world. It had to be."

Cloud stared at Max as he tried to take it all in, "so you're saying that, our worlds have aligned?"

Max closed his eyes to think, after a few moments he opened them again, "it's a theory," he said "how else would we have been teleported here?"

Cloud nodded his head in agreement, "I guess so. How did you end up in the Shinra Mansion?"

"I guess it must have been when I teleported here."

(Flashback sequence)

Max felt himself being pulled away from his friends by the strong force of the wind and disappeared, he materialised in the sky and fell quickly crashing through the roof of a building.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Max crashed through a brick wall that held the entrance to a winding staircase. He crashed to the ground with a thud, and skidded a few feet until he came to a stop near a door to a room.

"Owwww…" Max moaned in painas he slowly lifted his head up to get a good look at his surroundings and he saw a severed hand lying next to him)_ "_Aaaahhhhhhh!"

Max fainted at the sight and smell of the hand.

(End flashback)

Cloud continued to stare at Max, "you fell out of the sky?"

"Yeah," Max answered and he instinctively rubbed his back, "and it was painful too."

"You fainted?" Cloud asked as he tried to stifle his laughter.

Max gave Cloud an evil glare, "yeah well, you'd faint to if you saw a rotting severed hand."

Cloud shook his head at Max and tried to stifle his laughter. Max stood up and slowly walked to the fireplace in the far right hand corner of the room, he produced a small fireball in his hand and threw it into the fireplace and it ignited. Cloud stared at him in awe.

"How did you do that?" Cloud asked as he stared at Max in awe.

"The fireball?" Max answered grining smugly. "Oh that's easy, I just closed my hand, concentrated and…"

Cloud interrupted him, "no! You created a fireball, and it looks like you did it without materia."

Max stared at Cloud with a confused expression on his face. "What's materia?"

Cloud sighed, he reached for a bag under his bed, opened it and pulled out a piece of green materia that was glowing brightly. He stood up and walked over to Max and held out the materia in front of him.

"This is materia," Cloud answered, "and you can cast magic without using this?"

Max stared at the glowing orb in Cloud's hand, "yeah…that thing looks interesting, may I?"

"Knock yourself out," was all Cloud said.

Cloud handed the materia over to Max, he looked carefully at it his eyes deeply focused on the materia's glow. He could feel the aura of the materia pulsing through his veins.

"Hmmm," Max mumbled half to himself, "this is fire materia, it's been used a total of 5000 times, it's currently at level 3, but it's almost been mastered. Here catch."

Max threw the materia back to Cloud, he caught it and stared at Max in awe.

"How could you tell all that just by looking at it?"

Max grinned at Cloud, "the aura of the materia tells you more than just what type it is. It also tells you how many times it's been used and how powerful the spell is."

Cloud gave Max a sceptical look, "you've never seen materia before and yet you know a lot about it."

Max ruffled his hair, "I'm a member of a race of incredibly strong magical beings. If it's one thing my race knows, it's magic."

"You know pretty much everything about magic?"

"Yeah," Max replied, "what's materia made of?"

"...Mako..." Cloud answered reluctantly.

Max gave Cloud a blank stare,_ "_what's Mako?"

Cloud sighed, "it used to be an energy source for this planet," he explained, "it was a potent energy source, it provided all the towns and cities in the world with energy, but at a price."

Max stared at Cloud, "what kind of price?" He enquired.

"A wise man once told me that Mako was spirit energy, the very life force of this planet. And it was being sucked right out of the planet and used as energy."

"So Mako is the spirits of living things?"

Cloud nodded, "yes, the spirits of those who died dwell within the life stream. The life stream can't be seen or heard, except in certain places where it gushes up to the surface."

"Yet, you know it's there?"

"Yes."

Max's eyes lit up as he realised something, "wait a minute, you said the spirits of all those who died. Does that include your friends?"

Cloud's eyes went wide with shock, "my friends." It only took him a few seconds to realise who Max was talking about._ "_Zack and Aerith."

Max nodded, "yeah."

"How do you know them?" Cloud enquired.

"I heard them talking before," came the reply.

"I still don't get how you can hear the dead."

"Kitsunes are also psychic," Max answered, "we can read minds, possess people, and talk to the dead."

"How?"

"The voices of the dead can enter our minds and talk to us. Sometimes we can even see their spirits. Kitsunes often act as mediums between the dead and the living."

"This is all just too much." Cloud began to feel faint at this new information, he sat down on the bed to stop himself from collapsing to the floor. Max saw this and walked over to where Cloud was sitting.

"Are you ok, Cloud?" Max asked out of concern for his new friend.

Cloud looked up at Max and nodded, "yeah, I just…Zack and Aerith were talking to you?"

Max nodded, "yeah, Aerith told me to say hi."

"Next time you talk to them say hi, and tell them I'm sorry. They'll know what I mean."

Max stared at Cloud, "why are you apologising?"

Cloud shook his head, "it doesn't matter, just give them the message."

Max nodded to show that he understood, even though he had only known Cloud for a couple of hours he had grown to respect him, both as a fierce warrior and as a friend. "Ok, I'll tell them next time I talk to them."

Cloud nodded then he quickly changed the subject, "so what are you going to now?"

"I need to find my friends," Max answered determined to find out where they are.

"So you don't know where they are?"

Max shook his head, "nope."

Cloud started to think of what he could do to help, then he had an idea, "hold on a second."

Max stared at Cloud, "Cloud, what are you doing?"

Cloud didn't answer, he reached into his bag one more time and pulled out a phone, he started dialling a number and the phone rang.

* * *

It was early morning in Edge and the phone in the Seventh Heaven rang, Denzel was walking out of his bedroom when he heard the phone ringing, he walked over to it and picked it up. 

"Strife Delivery Service, you name it we deliver."

Cloud spoke on the other end of the phone, "Denzel?"

"Cloud, is that you?"

"Yeah," Cloud answered, "listen Denzel is Tifa in?"

"Yeah, I'll just go get her."

Denzel ran down the stairs and into the bar. Tifa was already down there getting ready to open up the bar. Marlene was also downstairs.

"Tifa!" Denzel called to her, "Cloud's on the phone."

Tifa stopped what she was doing and ran up the stairs, Drogo had woken up and opened his door as he saw Tifa run passed to Cloud's office. She picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She asked using her polite phone voice.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed, "how's the travelling going?"

"It's going fine," came the reply, "listen Tifa, I'm in Nibelheim right now."

"What are you doing in Nibelheim?" Tifa quieried.

"I thought I'd see how the town was doing. Anyway I found something really strange in the Shinra Mansion."

"What did you find?" She questioned, she was so busy talking to Cloud on the phone that she didn't even notice that Drogo had entered the room.

"I found this fox like creature with multiple tails," Cloud explained "he called himself a Kitsune. And get this, he can cast magic without materia, and he knew what kind of materia it was, it's strength and the amount of times it was used just by looking at it."

"Let me guess!" Drogo shouted so that Cloud could hear him over the phone, "he's a pain in the ass and he's psychic…that'll be Max!"

"Tifa, is there some else with you?" Cloud asked his tone wasn't accusary, rather it was curious.

Tifa sighed, "that's Drogo," she answered, "I found him in the bar last night."

"What was he doing in the bar?"

"It's a long story," Tifa explained, "anyway, he seems to know the guy that's with you."

"Do you think you can get Drogo on the phone?"

"Sure," Tifa said as she passed the phone to Drogo,_ "_I think…Max, wants to talk to you."

Drogo took the phone, "Thanks, hey Max."

"Drogo, where are you?" Max asked.

"I'm in a city called Edge," Drogo explained, "I'm in a bar called the Seventh Heaven."

Max rolled his eyes,_ "_figures," He muttered under his breath so that Drogo couldn't hear him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Drogo demanded as he heard what Max said.

"Oh nothing…"

"Where are you anyway?" Drogo asked.

"I'm in a town called Nibelheim," Max answered, "me and Cloud had a run in with a zombie."

Drogo looked confused, "Cloud?"

Max sighed, "he's the guy that found me."

"Right, hey is Sunny there with you?" Drogo questioned.

Max shook his head, "no, I haven't seen her. Have you seen Pandora?"

Drogo shook his head, "nope, I haven't seen anybody else."

"We have to find them," Max said a hint of desperation in his voice. "Then we can start finding a way to get home."

"How?" Drogo questioned and he looked athe damaged device on his wrist. "my teleportation device is broken and I'm guessing everyone else's devices are too."

"I'll have to figure out a way to fix them;" Max stated, "in the meantime we have to find the others."

"Ok."

"Hey, can I talk to Tifa again now?" Cloud asked.

"Sure," Max answered as he passed the phone over to Cloud.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked quietly.

"No it's Drogo."

"Drogo, can you put Tifa back on?" Cloud asked again.

"Ok," Drogo handed the phone back to Tifa, "he wants to talk to you."

"Cloud?" Tifa spoke into the phone.

"Tifa," Cloud responded, "I'll get back to Edge as quick as I can, alright."

"Ok, see you soon, bye."

Cloud and Tifa hung up.

* * *

On Cloud and Max's side. 

Cloud smiled at Max, "well at least one of your friends is found," he said encouragingly.

Max nodded, "yeah, but we still need to find the others."

"Don't worry we'll find them," Cloud replied, he placed his hand on Max's shoulder to reassure him, "what are their names?"

"Well," Max answered, he turned his head to face Cloud as he spoke. "We just spoke to Drogo on the phone, he's currently in Edge with your friend Tifa. Then there's Pandora, Angel, Lance, Sunny, Isis and Nightshade."

Cloud whistled, "that's a lot of friends."

Max laughed, "yeah, I have to find them, then I can start thinking of a way to get us all home."

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Cloud said again.

"Yeah I know," Max agreed, he climbed into bed._ "_Well, goodnight Cloud."

Cloud also got into his bed, "yeah, goodnight Max."

Cloud turned off the bedside lamp and both he and Max fall asleep.

* * *

On Tifa and Drogo's side. 

"Well at least your friend Max was found," Tifa said, trying to sound encouraging.

Drogo sighed, "yeah, but Sunny isn't with him."

Tifa placed her hand on Drogo's shoulder, "well if your friend Max is found then that means the others can be found too."

Drogo snorted, "yeah, right..." he muttered under his breath.

_"_Don't worry," Tifa said reassuringly, "we'll find her."

Drogo smiled, "yeah, I know. Hey do you have any vehicles?"

"I have a car," Tifa replied as she gave Drogo a questioning look, "why?"

"Great, thanks."

Drogo left the room and went down the stairs into the kitchen, Tifa followed him.

"Hey, where are you going?" She yelled after him.

"Is it ok if I borrow your car?" Drogo asked with a pleading look in his eyes.

"What?" Tifa cried out.

"Great, thanks."

"You need the keys."

"That's ok," Drogo stated grinning inanely "I'll hotwire it."

"What?" Tifa shouted, "you're not hotwiring my car!"

"Relax," Drogo said as he gave Tifa an encouraging smile. "I've done it loads of times. Please Tifa, I need to find Sunny."

Tifa sighed she knew there was no way out of this. "Alright, you can take my car, but please bring it back in one piece ok."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your car."

Drogo opened the door that led round the back to the garages and walked out. Tifa took one last look at him then returned to the bar to start serving customers.

"Hold on Sunny," Drogo said quietly to himself, "I'm on my way."

* * *

It was approaching sunrise in the newly built town of Coral, and Barret was overlooking the digging of a new oil well they had found. He took a picture out of his pocket and looked at it. It was a picture of himself, Cloud, Tifa and Marlene when they had first opened the Seventh Heaven. Barret sighed, he missed those days back with the gang, and he missed Marlene but he knew that she was safe with Cloud and Tifa, and he did promise Marlene in his letter that he'd see her soon. After all he was doing this for Marlene as well as himself. 

A surveyor approached Barrey. "Mayor Wallace," He said crisply, "we're ready to survey the oil well."

Barret grinned at the man, "good," he replied, "with more oil coming through we'll soon find enough energy sources to replace Mako."

When the town was rebuilt two years ago, Barret was appointed mayor, a challenge he took all too enthusiastically. The coal mines had been re-opened and an oil well was discovered. It was only in the passed few days that a second oil well had been discovered.

"I'm sorry Marlene," Barret said to himself as thoughts about his daughter entered his head, "but as soon as this oil well is up and running I will come and see you I promise."

"Sir," the surveyor spoke suddenly causing Barret to snap out of his train of thought. "The survey is done, we can turn the oil well on now."

Barret clapped his hands together in anticipation, "excellent, Coral's finally getting back on its feet."

"Would you like to do the honours mayor Wallace?" The surveyor curtly asked him.

Barret grinned, "sure."

Barret walked over to the switch for the oil well and was just in the process of turning it on when a construction worker came running up to Barret.

"Mayor Wallace!" He shouted urgently. "There's someone lying unconscious near the oil well!"

"What?" Barret yelled back out of concern for the person there, "what are they doing there?"

"I don't know" The construction worker replied, "she just appeared. If we turn the oil well on now it could seriously hurt her, maybe even kill her!"

Barret started running towards the oil well as fast as he could._ "_I'll get her out of there!" Barret shouted, "get ready with the switch and turn the oil on when I give the word."

The construction worker nodded to show that he understood, "ok."

Barret ran towards the oil well and found a young girl lying unconscious next to the well, she was an unusual looking girl but Barret didn't have time to look at her in great detail. However she didn't look too badly injured and Barret was able to carry her without risking further the girl further injuries. Barret carried the girl until he got her to a safe distance away from the oil well, he then looked at the construction worker at the switch he gave the man a thumbs up sign, the oil well burst and a fountain of oil emerged. Barret placed the girl on to the ground and a construction worker checked her over.

"Well she's breathing," The construction worker said as he and Barret heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"That's good news," Barret replied happily.

"She looks unusual though," The construction worker added, "I've never seen a woman look like that before."

"I'll take her back with me, and make sure she's ok," Barret replied.

Barret picked up the girl and carried her back to his house. It was a regular, two storeys, detached house. Even though Barret was the mayor of Coral, he didn't want to live in luxury, a normal house with the essentials was more than enough for him. He opened his front door and entered the hall, he carried the girl through the hallway and entered the living room which was the first door on the left. The living room was small but cosy. There was an old three piece suit leaning against the back wall, a comfortable looking armchair in the corner, a wide screen TV and cable. (Barret liked some luxury) He placed the girl on to the sofa. Barret took a closer look at her, she was hedgehog like in appearance. Her fur was peach coloured, her head spines were short and held in place by a blue headband. She wore a light blue halter-neck top which extends down to her legs, a blue short skirt, light blue sleeves that were not attached to her top, blue gloves and blue knee length boots. She had a bow and quiver (that was empty) on her back, Barret had long since removed them and leaned them against the armchair. Barret was momentarily shocked by her appearance but making sure that she was alright was more important. Five minutes later the girl began to stir.

"Ohhhhhh…" She moaned softly as she opened her eyes and saw Barret standing over her.

"Are you alright?" Barret asked, his face was filled with concern.

"Yeah, I think so," The girl answered, "who are you?"

"The name's Barret,"

The girl smiled, "I'm Sunny."

Barret smiled bakc, "Sunny huh? I'm guessing you're not from this world."

Sunny stared at Barret her eyes were wide with shock. "How did you know?"

"You don't look human," Barret answered, "and you don't look like anything from this world."

"And you're not shocked by me?" Sunny asked.

"I was," Barret explained, "but only for a short while. Making sure you were alright was the important thing. What happened?"

"I don't know," Sunny responded looking confused, "one minute I was inside a giant whirlwind and the next…" She sat up suddenly as she remembered,_ "_Drogo!"

"Take it easy," Barret said softly and calmly.

"Where is he?" Sunny demanded, "I have to find him!"

Sunny tried to stand but Barret stopped her, "just calm down, you had a terrible shock."

"Have you seen him?" Sunny asked again.

Barret shook his head, "I didn't see anybody at that oil well apart from you. What does this Drogo fellow look like?"

"Well," Sunny explained, "he's a hedgehog like me. He has purple fur, his fringe spikes are light purple but often mistaken for pink. He has sea-green eyes, he wears mostly blue, he wields two Kitanas."

Barret shook his head again,_ "_I haven't seen anyone like that around here, but if I do see him I'll let you know."

Sunny smiled and she began to feel more relaxed. "Thank you…Barret."

Sunny convinced Barret that she had regained her strength and she slowly began to sit up, Barret sat down on the couch next to her and the two began talking.

"So," Barret asked staring at Sunny curiously, "where are you from?"

"Oh, I'm from a world called Terra Firma," Sunny replied, "it's a planet far away from here."

"And it's inhabited by creatures like you?"

Sunny nodded, "oh yes," she answered again, "but I've never seen any of your kind before. What are you?"

"I'm a human," came the response, "this world is predominately inhabited by humans."

"I see..." She looked at Barret's right hand and was shocked to see that it was metallic,_ "_is that a cybernetic hand?"

Barret lifted up his hand, "yeah," he answered.

"How did it happen?" Sunny asked enquiringly.

Oh, it was years ago now," Barret explained, "when my hometown was destroyed, I was helping a friend when I got shot in the hand. From that point on I lost the use of my right hand. I had it replaced with a gun arm, but after the meteor incident four years ago I had my gun arm removed and a metal hand put in, so I have the use of both hands again, but I can morph it into a gun whenever I want to."

Barret morphed his metal hand into a three barrelled gatling gun, Sunny was impressed by this.

"That's impressive!" She exclaimed.

Barret chuckled at this, "thanks."

"You know," Sunny divulged, "I have two friends that have cybernetic implants and one of them can materialise guns in her hands at will."

Barret stared at her, "now that is impressive."

Sunny sighed then fell silent, Barret looked at Sunny and saw that she held her head in her hands, it was obvious that she was missing her friends, missing Drogo. He tried to think of something he could say that would have encouraged her but his mind went blank. He saw his PHS lying on the table, he stood up and walked over to the table and picked up the phone. Even if he hadn't seen Drogo maybe someone else had seen him. He began to dial a number and the phone rang.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Edge Drogo was in the garage looking at Tifa's car. It was a basic car, that wasn't built for speed nor long distance travelling, but Drogo soon changed that. He had been working on the car all morning and it was now approaching early afternoon and Tifa could do nothing but stare in shock as Drogo began dismantling her car and adding his own modifications to it. He assured Tifa that he was improving her car.

"Hey Tifa," Drogo asked as he was busy working on the car, "where are the hydraulics on this thing?"

"There isn't any," Tifa answered and she gave him a questioning look, "why?"

Drogo grinned at her, "now, there is." Was all he said.

Tifa glared at Drogo and for a while was too shocked to speak. "What?" She eventually stuttered, "what did you do to my car?"

"I improved it," Drogo answered, "now it can go faster and it has better suspension. I also modified the speedometer, your car can now go up to 340 MPH."

Tifa placed her hands on her hips, "why do I want it to go at that speed?" She demanded to know.

"Oh trust me," Drogo stated, "you'll want it." Drogo started tampering with the front of the car and pulled out a small black box._ "_What's this?"

"That's my stereo," Tifa answered staring at the box.

Drogo shook his head and tossed the stereo to the side.

"Hey!" Tifa yelled as she gave him an evil glare.

Drogo merely shook his head in response. "That is not a stereo," he slipped out of the driver's seat and walked over to the boot of the car and opened the door to reveal a large black boom box that took up most of the space."THIS IS A STEREO!" Drogo stated with a wide grin on his face, Tifa merely stared in shock.

"I won't have any room to put anything else in the boot..." She stammered hardly able to believe that Drogo was tampering with her car.

"At this moment in time, it won't matter."

"Hmmmm…" Tifa started to respond but was interrupted by the sound of her PHS ringing in her pocket. She reached for the phone and answered it. _ "_Hello?"

"Yo Tifa, it's Barret!" Barret's voice boomed down the phone.

"Barret, how's it going?"

"It's going great, we found another oil well."

"Barret, that's great!" Tifa exclaimed happily.

"Yeah," Barret agreed, "but I found something else there too. A creature from another world. A female hedgehog, Sunny I think she said her name was."

Drogo stopped what he was doing and stared at Tifa, "Sunny?" Was all he said and he ran over to whereTifa was standing.

"Sunny! Is she alright?" Drogo asked quickly.

"Hey Tifa!" Barret yelled, "is there someone else there with you?"

Tifa nodded, "yes," came the reply, "I found someone from another world too, a male hedgehog, goes by the name of Drogo!"

Sunny's voice could be heard from Barret's end. "Drogo? He's there? Let me speak to him!"

"Err, Tifa…Sunny wants to talk to Drogo."

"Ok," Tifa said and she handed the phone to Drogo, _"_someone wants to talk to you."

Drogo took the phone and spoke into it.

"Sunny?"

"Drogo?"

"Where are you?" Drogo asked urgently, "I was so worried about you."

"I'm in a town called Coral," Sunny answered, "where are you?"

"A town called Edge," came the reply, "are you hurt?"

Sunny shook her head, "not really, a man named Barret found me, he's very nice."

"Sunny, stay where you are, I'm on my way to get you ok."

"Ok," Sunny replied hardly able to contain her excitement, "see you soon Drogo."

Sunny hung up on the phone, and Drogo gave the phone back to Tifa.

"Hey Tifa, where's Coral?" He asked.

"It's on the Western Continent," Tifa answered, "but you have to get there by boat, it'll take at least a couple of days."

Drogo moaned at this, "isn't there a quicker way?"

Tifa nodded, "yes but it would involve flying. A friend of mine is a pilot, he owns an airship. It would take him at least half an hour to get here from Rocket Town, that's another town on the Western Continent."

"I have to leave now!" Drogo yelled urgently, Drogo opened the door on the driver's side and sat in the seat. He then grabbed two wires and fused them together, the car's engine roared to life._ "_Yes! I've still got it."

Tifa opened the door on the passenger side and slid into the seat. "Wait, you don't know where Coral is."

"I'm sure I can find it," Drogo said.

"Yeah, but it'll be a lot faster if I guide you," Tifa replied.

"I don't know," Drogo said trying to choose his words carefully. "I mean you put me up for the night and I'm grateful for that, I don't want to impose on you anymore."

Tifa smiled and shook her head, "it's no trouble, I'd actually like to meet Sunny, she seems like a wonderful person."

Drogo smiled back, "oh she is. Alright, let's go, but what about Denzel and Marlene?"

"Don't worry," Tifa answered, I knew you'd want to find Sunny so I called a neighbour earlier on this morning to keep an eye on them for me.

Drogo's grinn grew wider, "you've thought of everything haven't you?

Tifa noded, "yeah, I always like to think ahead, "let's go and get Sunny."

Drogo pushed his foot down on the accelerator and the car sped out of the garage and round the corner. Tifa took out her PHS and sent a text message to Cloud.

"_We've located Sunny, (Drogo's wife) she's in Coral. Barret found her. Drogo and I are on our way to Coral now. Meet us there. Love Tifa."_

A few seconds later Tifa received a text message.

"_Understood, we're on our way to Coral. See you there. Love Cloud."_

* * *

**Phew, finally chapter 3 is over. Not as action packed as chapter 2 but I try. Chapter 4 is coming soon, remember this is my first fanfic so go easy on me. Please tell me what you think (make any criticisms as constructive as possible). Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy vii and any associated characters, they belong to Square Enix. I do however own characters I made myself. **


	4. A Tale of Oposites

**Chapter 4: A tale of opposites**

It had been a whole day since Lance woke up and found himself in a forest in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere on a strange world where nothing was even remotely familiar to him. However Lance wasn't one to lose his cool over something like this, he had found himself in situations worse than this, he just had to find his way out of the forest.

Lance carefully scaned his surroundings, "Hmmm," He said to himself, "if I go North that'll just take me even further into the forest, so if I go South I may be able to get out of this place."

Lance set off in a Southern direction; the forest wasn't particularly frightening and the creatures within it remained in hiding, afraid of the stranger that was wandering around their forest. Lance continued to survey his surroundings, every tree looked the same but as a guard and with the help of his cybernetic implants, Lance had a good sense of direction. However after a while Lance had the strange feeling that he was being watched.

Lance stopped suddenly in his tracks and looked behind him, but when he saw nothing there he relaxed slightly and shrugged, "hmmm, I must have been imagining it." Lance continued walking, completely unaware that someone was watching him.

A female thief in her late teens, early 20s was sat on a high up tree branch of a blossom tree eyeing the stranger who was currently walking underneath her hiding place. "So," She thought to herself as she chuckled quietly, "that's a wallet, jewellery, a watch. Man that guy is loaded, and I bet he's a real sucker too."

The thief jumped from tree to tree at the same time as keeping an eye on her intended victim. Lance quickly jumped back just in time as a large four point shuriken came flying at him and stuck into the trunk of a nearby tree. Lance quickly withdrew his spear and turned round to see a young woman in her late teens, early 20s standing a few feet away from him.

"Damn!" She cursed, "Why did you move?"

Lance glared at the woman, "so it was you that threw that shuriken!"

The woman walked over to the tree and pulled her shuriken out of it, the weapon looked too large and heavy to use, but the woman could wield it easily.

"Who are you?" Lance asked careful not to take his eyes of the woman.

"Humph, I could ask you the same question. Gee, you're funny looking." The woman laughed loudly as she pointed at Lance's tail._ "_Is that thing even real?"

Lance gave the woman another evil glare and flicked his tail angrily. "Yes, it's real, now what do you want?" He demanded in no mood for her antics.

"Well," The woman answered grinning smugly as she did so. "I was gonna sneak up and take your items but now it looks like I'll have to do things the hard way."

"You're a thief?"

"My name is Yuffie," Yuffie explained, "I prefer to think of myself as a materia hunter, and a ninja. In fact I'm the best ninja in the land, you've probably heard of me."

"First of all," Lance said shaking his head at Yuffie, "I only just got here. Second, I haven't heard of you, and third, what's materia?"

"What's materia?" Yuffie repeated she slapped her head mockingly,"man you're thick, materia are orbs that enable the user to cast magic, and to a trained materia hunter/ninja like me they're very valuable."

"Ha," Lance scoffed, "call yourself whatever you want, to me you're just a thief, and believe me I know your type."

Yuffie grinned, "Is that so?" She questioned slyly, "why don't you fight me and you'll soon see how good I am, I'll try not to hurt you too much." She laughed at her own statment and got into a fighting stance.

Lance grinned, "oh don't worry about me," he responded as he spun his lance round and brought it behind him in a fighting stance._ "_You should be more worried about yourself."

Lance and Yuffie stood opposite each other, and for a time neither moved but rather they stared intently at each other trying to determine their opponent's weak points. Lance locked on to Yuffie to determine her weaknesses.

Lance: _(In his head) _Well she's fast, flexible, acrobatic. Has some skill with that shuriken, but is too cocky and arrogant, can be a little clumsy.

Yuffie jumped a few paces backwards and launched her shuriken at Lance. Lance quickly spun his spear round in circles in front of him causing the shuriken to deflect off it and head back in Yuffie's direction. She jumped up and caught it.

Yuffie: _(In her head) _Damn, I've got to admit, he's pretty good with that spear. Throwing my shuriken at him won't work, I have to change my tactics.

Yuffie ran towards the nearest tree and jumped up to the lowest branch, she darted from branch to branch trying to confuse Lance. Lance followed her every move with his target sensor. Yuffie quickly jumped from the highest tree branch and aimed to strike Lance with her shuriken. There was an almighty clang as shuriken met spear. Lance staggered back at the force of Yuffie's strike causing him to remain on the defensive, it appeared that Lance and Yuffie were in a bit of a stalemate. Yuffie was striking against Lance's spear with all her might trying to break through his defences, Lance meanwhile was defending himself with his spear, neither could get in any blows of their own. Eventually Yuffie broke through Lance's defences and cut him on the arm, fortunately she struck his left arm, Yuffie was shocked that he didn't even cry out.

"Hey!" Yuffie stammered in shock at the fact that Lance was still stood there without feeling any pain. "I struck your arm, you're supposed to be on the floor in pain!"

Lance grinned slyly at Yuffie ,"my arm is cybernetic," he explained, "I don't feel any pain there."

Yuffie glared at Lance, "just you wait!"

Yuffie placed both her feet on Lance's spear and kicked off it into the air, Lance bent his knees and launched himself into the air striking again at Yuffie with his spear. This time however Lance managed to strike Yuffie in her arm.

"Aaaahhhh!" Yuffie cried out in pain as she fell to the ground holding her arm, Lance landed in front of her._ "_You stupid jerk!" She yelled, cursing at Lance. "You could of killed me!"

"Sorry," Lance replied apologetically, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Lance walked up to Yuffie, he stretched out his hand to help Yuffie to her feet, but as soon as Lance got near her Yuffie kicked out and dragged Lance's feet out from underneath him. Lance landed hard on his stomach effectively winding him. Yuffie leapt to her feet and pulled a coil of rope from her shoulder and was about to tie Lance up, but he opened his eyes and side rolled out of the way just in time.

"Huh?" Yuffie looked around her in confusion.

Yuffie was standing by the tree where Lance lay a few moments previously, she turned round just in time to see a spear being thrown at her.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Yuffie cried out as the spear caught the collar of her tank top and pinned her to the tree causing her to drop the rope she held in her hand.

"Hey, no fair!" Yuffie whined loudly as she struggled wildly. "You cheated!"

"See," Lance taunted as he walked up to her, "I told you I can handle thieves like you. Yuffie was still struggling. "Stop struggling," Lance said as he gave her a stern stare, "you'll just make it tighter. I'm gonna let you go now, ok."

Yuffie nodded and Lance removed his spear causing Yuffie to fall to the ground, Lance helped Yuffie to her feet and she leaned on him for a while until she could regain her balance. However when she came away she had Lance's wallet in her hand.

Lance saw the wallet in Yuffie's hand and started feeling round his pockets. "Hey, give that back!" Lance commanded, hetook the wallet back, grabbed hold of Yuffie's hand and picked up the rope lying on the ground.

Yuffie winced as she felt Lance's grip tighten round her wrist. "Hey let go you're hurting me!" She cried out in pain. "What are you doing?"

Lance pushed Yuffie backwards and her back slammed heavily into a nearby tree. He took hold of both ends of the rope and tied Yuffie up with it.

Lance stood back after tying her up. "There, now you can't get up to anything," Lance replied, satisfied that Yuffie was securely bound to the tree, "now are you gonna talk or do I have to force the answers out of you?"

"Ok, ok I'll talk!" Yuffie responded rapidly, her eyes grew wide with fright. "I'll tell you everything you need to know…but just tell me who you are first and I'll talk!"

Lance sat down on a log opposite Yuffie, he thought about her demand and when he decdied that it was a reasonable on ehe answered. "Alright, I'm Lance. Now tell me where we are."

"We're on the Western Continent," Yuffie began to explain, "we're currently in a forest North of Wutai."

Lance gave Yuffie a confused look, "Wutai?"

"It's my hometown, you just have to keep following the trail South."

Lance thought about this and nodded, "I see, well thanks…Yuffie."

Lance stood up and started to walk off in the direction that Yuffie had suggested.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled after him, "you're not thinking of leaving me here are you?"

Lance stopped in his tracks but he didn't face her, "why not? He asked still with his back to her. "It's no more than you deserve." Lance continued to walk away.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs, "get back here! My Father is Lord Godo, the leader of Wutai! If he finds out about this he'll kick your ass!"

Lance stopped again, but this time he turned to face Yuffie.

"I hope that…Lord Godo knows that he has a rotten little sneak thief for a daughter!" He snapped

"He does know actually!" Yuffie shot back glaring at Lance, "now are you are gonna untie me or do I have to yell and scream until your ears hurt so much that you'll have to let me go!"

Lance sighed, he knew that Yuffie was right, she would scream and continue to scream until he had a splitting headache. He walked over to Yuffie and began to untie her. Yuffie slowly stood up and rubbed her wrists.

"Thanks…sucker…I mean Lance. Well I better be on my way…" Yuffie stopped in mid-sentence as she felt something snag on the collar of her shirt, she turned he head round to see that Lance had grabbed hold of her._ "_Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she struggled but Lance's grip was too strong, "let go!"

Lance refused to let go,_ "_Wait a second. You're not going anywhere." He withdrew a shorter length of rope, he grabbed hold of Yuffie's arms and pulled them behind her back. Yuffie winced in pain but she didn't cry out, When Lance was sure that Yuffie's hands were securely behind her back, he tied them together.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled, she tried to kick him but Lance was too quick for her. "What are you doing? You're kidnapping me!"

"I'm not kidnapping you," Lance tried reasoning with her, "I'm just making sure that you don't run away. Now if you behave yourself I might let you go."

"You know," Yuffie commented, "for…whatever it is that you are, you're very shrewd."

"I'm a fox," Lance retorted, "now which way did you say we had to go to get to…Wutai is it?"

Yuffie nodded, "yeah, we go South." She replied.

"Good, lets go."

Lance began to walk in a Southern direction dragging Yuffie behind him.

* * *

Meanwhile in Rocket Town, Cid Highwind was busy making last minute adjustments to the Tiny Bronco. He had been working on rebuilding the plane for the passed three months and had almost got it flying again. His wife Shera had helped him to rebuild the Tiny Bronco and he was grateful for her help. She was now in the house taking a break while Cid made his adjustments. Five minutes later he had finished his adjustments and he stood back to admire his handy work. 

"Well…there she is," Cid said proudly to himself, "better than new. All I have to do is take her for a test fight."

Cid climbed into the Tiny Bronco and turned the engine on, he sighed happily at the thought of taking to the skies in the Tiny Bronco once again. The plane slowly moved forwards as it headed towards the runway.

Nearby Angel had just woken up to find herself in a field.

"Oh," Angel moaned softly as she came round, "where am I…Lance!" Angel sat up and looked to her left and saw that Lance wasn't there. "Where could he be?"

Angel staggered to her feet and looked at her surroundings, she wasn't sure where she was or even how she got there but she did have a feeling that it had something to do with that strange storm they were caught in. Angel found herself thinking about Lance. She hadn't seen him or the others since they were separated and her heart was filled with worry.

"Well," Angel decided, "I can't stand here and do nothing, I must find them."

Angel started walking across the field, it was quite a picturesque scenery, almost as if it was out of a picture book. Eventually the grass was replaced by hard concrete. Angel looked down on the ground she was walking on and saw strange markings on the tarmac, she wasn't sure what those markings were and she found herself staring intently at them as if she was deciphering some secret that was held within them. Angel was so wrapped up in her own little world that she didn't hear the sound of an engine nearby.

* * *

The Tiny Bronco was now on the runway and Cid was making his final checks. 

"The engine…is online, the propellers… " He looked at the propellers on the wings of the plane and grinned,_ "_check. Well everything seems fine, and we're ready for take off."

The Tiny Bronco started moving again at top speed along the runway, it had go quite a distance down the runway before it could take off but Cid was confident that this test flight would be a success. Half way down the runway he saw something large and brown, tinged with blue on the runway and it took him a split second to realise that it was a person of some kind.

"Shit!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs, he pulled back on the brake as hard as he could and sparks flew from the wheels of the Tiny Bronco as it started to skid to a stop. Angel looked up and saw the plane speeding towards her.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Angel screamed she tried to move but her feet appeared to be frozen to the ground. Fortunately the Tiny Bronco stopped mere inches in front of Angel, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Cid glared at her from the Tiny Bronco.

"What the hell did you think you were playing at?!" Cid cursed not taking his eyes off Angel. "You could have been killed for Pete's Sake!"

"I'm so sorry," Angel apologised, deep down she was disgusted at Cid's use of vulgar language but she remained polite, "I didn't hear you coming."

Cid jumped out of his plane to get a closer look at Angel and was shocked to see that she was a large brown rabbit with green eyes and wearing a blue dress that looked difficult to move around in.

The cigarette dropped out of Cid's wide open mouth. "Sweet merciful crap!" He cursed loudly, "you just talked! What the hell are you?!"

"I beg your pardon!" Angel shouted back as she gave Cid an evil stare. "I've never heard such vulgar language in all my life."

"Just answer my damn question!"

"Very well, if you must know, my name is Angel."

"The name's Cid, pleased to meet ya!"

Cid held his hand out for Angel to shake, she stared at it for a moment and then returned the gesture.

"Is that your plane?" Angel asked curiously as she stared wide eyed at the Tiny Bronco.

"Impressed are you?" Cid smiled at Angel and he walked over to the Tiny Bronco and patted it proudly. "This is the Tiny Bronco, it was first the plane I ever flown in. Unfortunately it was shot down a few years back, I only just finished rebuilding it."

"You flew in this?" Angel gasped hardly able to contain her excitment.

"Damn straight I did," Cid stated with pride, "you're looking at the best pilot in the world! So, I'm guessing you want somewhere to stay huh?"

Angel nodded, "if you don't mind, thank you Mr Cid."

"Mr Cid…" Cid repeated with a confused expression on his face, "you know you're the first person who's ever called me that. I don't like it though, sounds too formal for my liking. Just call me Cid alright."

"Alright, Cid."

Cid smiled, satisfied, "good, I'm glad we got that sorted out, My hometown isn't too far from here. It's just through those trees." Cid pointed to some nearby trees as he said this._ "_Just follow me and stay close."

Cid turned round and was about to walk off when Angel stopped him.

"But what about your plane?" Angel asked as she pointed at the Tiny Bronco.

Cid stopped and turned to face Angel, "oh don't you worry about that little lady," He answered happily, "I'll just get some of the technicians to move it."

Cid took his PHS out of his pocket and dialled a number.

"Hello? Who's this?"

"Who's this? " Cid repeated in a mocking tone, "what do you mean "Who's this?" It's Cid you idiot!"

"Oh sorry Cid," the technician on the other end of the phone replied apologetically. "I didn't realise it was you. What can I do for you?"

"Send some of your men to move the Tiny Bronco back to the hangar behind my house," Cid ordered.

"I thought you were taking the Tiny Bronco for a test flight."

"The test flight has been postponed for now," Cid told the technician, "now get over here and move the Tiny Bronco or I'll bust your ass so fast that it'll make your head spin, understand?"

"Yes Cid…" The technician stammered nervously. "I'll get right on it."

"Make sure you do" Cid told the technician, "and go easy on her ok, it's taken me three months to rebuild her."

"Yes Cid." The technician hung up and Cid placed the Phs back in his pocket.

_"_So, you coming?" He asked Angel.

Angel nodded and she followed Cid into town. Rocket Town was a typical rural town, it was small yet bustling with people. It looked almost picturesque as Angel walked passed the thatched houses and eventually came to a stop outside Cid's house. Cid opened the door with the house key and walked in, Angel followed and they both entered the hallway.

"Shera!" Cid yelled, his booming voice echoed through the hall.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Shera called out to him.

"Put some tea on Shera!" Cid barked an order at her. "We have a guest staying with us!"

"A guest…" Shera responded, "you didn't tell me we were having guests!"

"It was a last minute thing!"

Cid and Angel walked down the hallway into the kitchen, Shera was sat at the table reading a newspaper. She looked up as soon as Cid and Angel entered the room.

"Didn't you hear me out there?" Cid continued to yell at Shera. "I said make some damn tea woman!"

"I'm sorry Cid," Shera apologised she hated it when Cid was like this, "I'll get right on it." Shera placed her paper on the table, she stood up and began to fill the kettle with water to boil it.

"Please," Angel said politely, "don't mind me."

"Don't be stupid!" Cid responed, "you're our guest, guests should be made to feel welcome. Ain't that right Shera?!"

_"_Of course Cid," Shera said as she nodded in agreement.

"See Shera doesn't mind," Cid told Angel, "now get your ass in a chair and drink that damn tea when Shera's made it, of course we'll probably be waiting till Christmas, the rate she moves."

"You really shouldn't treat your wife like that," Angel admonished as she pointed at Cid.

"Don't worry," Cid replied casually, "Shera knows I love her really. Don't I Shera?"

Shera walked over to the table carrying three cups of tea, "it's alright, I'm used to it. Cid has made fun of me for years, but that's just his way. I don't believe you've told me your name."

"Oh," Angel responded feeling slightly sheepish, she'd forgotten to tell Shera her name. "I'm Angel."

Shera smiled at Angel, "it's nice to meet you Angel," she replied in a friendly tone.

Cid quickly drunk his tea, "mmmmmmm…lovely! Hey Shera, this is the best damned cup of tea you've made in a long time!" Cid complemented, it was rare that he complemented Shera, or anbody for that matter about anything, never mind a cup of tea.

Shera smiled at Cid, "I'm glad you liked it Cid." She said gratefully.

Angel slowly sipped her tea and smiled at Shera, "thank you."

"You're welcome," Shera responded, "it's always nice to have guests round once in a while."

Shera sat down and drank her tea and for the passed half hour she and Angel talked much to Cid's annoyance.

"So, where are you from Angel?" Shera asked keen to get all the gossip from Angel.

"Oh," Angel started to explain, "I'm from a world called Terra Firma."

"And do all the people of Terra Firma look like you?"

"There's a wide range of different species," Angel answered, "my husband Lance is a fox."

"Whoa! Hold on a second!" Cid cut in shocked at what Angel had said, "you're a rabbit right?"

Angel nodded,_ "_Yes," came the reply.

"And your husband's a fox right?" Cid continued asking questions.

"Yes."

"Shit!" Cid cursed

Angel glared at Cid,_ "_Cid! Watch your language!" She yelled.

Cid ignored her and continued, "has he tried eating you yet?" He asked jokingly.

"Cid!" Shera shouted as she glared at him.

Cid turned to face Shera and he shrugged his shoulders, "what?" He asked innocently, "I mean he's a fox, she's a rabbit. Foxes are above rabbits in the food chain, foxes eat rabbits. It's a well know fact."

Shera turned to Angel, "don't mind Cid," she stated reassuringly, "he always asks the most awkward questions." Shera turned to look at Cid as she said this._ "_Shouldn't you be checking on the Tiny Bronco?"

Cid quickly jumped to his feet, "shit, yeah! Those fools should have brought it back by now!"

Cid ran out through the back door and Angel and Shera could hear him cursing at the technicians.

"No! To the left you idiots! Be careful with the Tiny Bronco, it took me three months to rebuild!"

Shera shook her head at this. "He'll be like that for hours," She said with a sigh.

"I don't know how you could have married that man," Angel found herself saying.

"I married Cid because I love him," Shera replied, but she knew what Angel was getting at.

"I think he's rude and incredibly vulgar," Angel voiced her opinion about Cid.

"I know he seems rough round the edges," Shera explained, she was aware of Cid's swearing habits, but she also knew Cid's kind, caring side, "but Cid is a kind, caring decent man…In his own way."

"I see..." Was all Angel said though deep down she couldn't see a man who went overboard with vulgar language as being decent.

"Are you finished with that cup?" Shera asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh, yes," Angel answered, she gave Shera the empty cup and she placed it on the side ready to be washed.

"I'm guessing you'll be staying the night."

Angel nodded, "if it's not too much trouble."

Shera smiled at Angel and shook her head, "it's no trouble at all," she replied kindly, "come on, I'll show you to your room."

Shera led Angel out into the hallway and up the stairs. The house was small and modest when Angel compared it to the manor she had lived in on Terra Firma. Nevertheless Cid and Shera lived a comfortable life, Shera opened a door that led to the spare bedroom. The room was small and cosy, the wall paper was white decorated with red roses. The bed was against the wall opposite the door underneath the window which was now open, a cool breeze was blowing into the room. There was also a wooden fixed in wardrobe and a chest of drawers next to bed.

"I know you're probably used to the best back on your world," Shera said in an understanding tone, "but I hope this room is alright."

Angel nodded, she was sat down on the bed and she found very comfortable. She knew that she would enjoy staying here. "It's perfect, thank you," She replied gratefully.

"You're very welcome," Shera said again, "well I better go downstairs and start washing up, Cid hates it when there are dirty dishes."

Angel stood up and walked towards Shera, "I'll help," She volunteered.

Shera smiled but she politely refused Angel's help, "don't be silly," Shera admonished, "you're our guest. You shouldn't have to help with anything."

Angel smiled back, "I don't mind helping out," she replied, " in fact the job would be done a lot faster if both of us work together."

Shera thought about it for a while then nodded, "you're right," Shera agreed, "it would be a lot faster with two people working together. But only if you're sure."

"I told you, I don't mind."

Shera and Angel walked out of the room and went back downstairs to the kitchen. Shera washed the dishes and Angel dried them and put them away, in almost no time at all the two women were done.

"Well," Shera said proudly, "I never expected us to get the dishes done that quickly, thanks for the help, Angel."

"It was no problem, really," Angel replied modestly.

A few seconds later Cid walked in.

"Well, the Tiny Bronco is back in its original place and I've scheduled another damn flight test," Cid informed them.

"I'm sorry Cid," Angel apologised, "I didn't mean to spoil your test flight."

"I told you, it's ok," Cid said waving Angel's apology aside, "don't start going all apologetic on me, alright."

"I'll try."

"Good, I'm sure Shera has shown you the freaking room."

"Yes she did," Angel answered, all thoughts of remaining polite to Cid were tossed out of the window, "and what did I tell you about watching your language. You shouldn't use such prophanities, it's not very polite."

"You should learn to let your hair down once in a while!" Cid retorted jokingly.

"Excuse me!" Angel yelled giving Cid an evil glare.

"What Cid means is…" Shera cut in trying her best to keep the peace.

Cid interrupted her, "that you shouldn't be so damn uptight about every small thing."

"Where as you on the other hand have thrown every ounce of decency out of the window! Angel snapped as she told Cid exactly what she thought of him, "I've heard some foul language from people I know, but you really take the biscuit!"

"Whoa!" Cid yelled in shock, "are you saying that you haven't used "vulgar language" as you call it?"

Angel shook her head, "no," she replied.

"Not even once?" Cid gave Angel a questioning look.

"I have never used language like that and I hope I never do!" Angel yelled again, "now if you excuse me, I'm going to my room!"

Angel stormed out of the room, Shera glared at Cid.

"What?" Cid asked innocently, "all I said was that she shouldn't be so uptight, I didn't think she'd take it so damn personally."

"She's right though," Shera stated, "you do use too much vulgar language."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cid demanded giving Shera a shocked stare.

"I think you should tone it down a bit," Shera answered not taking her eyes off Cid.

"I'm not gonna let some posh chick tell me how I can and can't talk! Cid retorted.

Shera shook her head at Cid, "ohCid," she couldn't help but smile at him. "Maybe I should go after her.

"No," He suggested, "from what I've learned, women are best left alone until they calm down. Just leave her to it."

Shera sighed, "alright, I'll make a start on dinner."

Shera went to the freezer and took some food out while Cid sat at the table and read the news paper Shera was reading earlier. Meanwhile Angel had charged into her room slammed the door shut and jumped face down on to her bed, close to tears. There she was separated from Lance and her friends, in a place far away from home and she was currently in the company of the most foul mouthed, disrespectful person she had ever had the misfortune of meeting. Angel slowly lifted her head up, got off the bed and walked towards the window, she looked out on to the town below. Sunset was approaching and Angel couldn't help but worry about Lance.

"Oh Lance," Angel cried in her head, "where are you?"

* * *

It was approaching nightfall in the area surrounding Wutai, Lance and Yuffie reached a small clearing within the forest, a small stream trickled through the clearing and the sunset could be seen clearly and Lance stopped in his tracks. 

"Why are we stopping?" Yuffie asked as she stared at Lance.

Lance turned to face her, "most creatures within a forest are nocturnal," Lance explained, "in other words they only come out at night."

"I know what nocturnal means!" Yuffie yelled glaring angrily at Lance, she couldn't believe that Lance was treating her as though she was stupid. "I just want to know why we're stopping!"

Lance sighed, "gee," he muttered under his breath so that Yuffie couldn't hear him, "for saying she knows this area, or so she claims, she isn't very bright." He spoke a little louder,"we're stopping because there's more monsters around at night and it would be too dangerous to travel. Besides this looks like a good spot to camp for the night."

Yuffie gave Lance a funny look, "you're kidding right!"

Lance shook his head, "no," he responded, "I'm serious, that stream will provide us with water and we're out in the open where there's some light, and we can see if there's any monsters coming."

Yuffie nodded, "well since we're in this together," She suggested, "do you think maybe you could untie me now?" She asked staring hopefully at Lance.

"I don't think so," Lance answered quickly, "until I can trust you, I'm not gonna untie you. And just so you know I don't trust easily, it'll take a lot for you to gain my trust."

"Well…" Yuffie began to ask, "what do I have to do to gain your trust?"

"Well…" Lance answered, "for starters you could try not to steal from me at every given opportunity."

Yuffie nodded, "sounds easy enough," She replied.

"And don't run away at the first sign of trouble," Lance continued.

"What do you think I am, a coward?" Yuffie snapped as she gave Lance an evil glare.

"You're a thief," came the reply, "all thieves are cowards."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled, "that's an unfair generalisation!"

"Yuffie, just sit down and shut up!" Lance commanded, Yuffie stared at Lance for a moment, he was glaring fiercely at her and his teeth were bared. At that moment Yuffie knew that he was serious and that disobeying him wasn't in her best interests. She sat down without a word, satisfied that she wouldn't go anywhere, Lance turned away from Yuffie and started heading towards the trees.

_"_Hey! Where are you going?" Yuffie called after him.

"To get some firewood!" Lance shouted back and he walked off and disappeared under the trees.

_"_Fine!" Yuffie continued to yell. "Just leave me here! Alone…by myself…"Yuffie fell silent and waited patiently for Lance to return. Five minutes later Lance returned with some firewood and the fire was lit within two minutes. He went away again and returned with a young deer, a deep cut made only by spear went across its stomach.

"Hey deer!" Yuffie yelled in excitement, it had been along time since she had deer, "I know a few good recipes for a deer. If you untie me I could…"

"Nice try," Lance interrupted her, "but I'm not gonna let you off the hook that easily."

"Oh come on!" Yuffie began to complain, "the rope is really starting to hurt my wrists, just for a little while."

Lance thought for a while then sighed, he walked behind Yuffie, but before he untied her hands he pulled a small device that Drogo had lent him he pressed the button and the device glowed red. Lance gently placed the device on the back of Yuffie's neck, then he began to untie her. Yuffie pulled her hands round to her front and rubbed her wrists.

"Thanks," Yuffie replied gratefully.

"Humph, whatever," Lance merely stated, he still had the rope in his hands and he tied Yuffie's feet with it.

"Hey!" Yuffie cried out as she struggled wildly, "what are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't escape," Lance answered, "oh and if you get any ideas about untying your legs, I'll know."

"Whatever…"

After half an hour the deer was cooked and ready to be eaten, Lance and Yuffie sat in silence while they ate the deer. Lance looked hungry almost as if he hadn't eaten in days. After they had eaten Yuffie broke the silence.

"So," Yuffie spoke up, "it's pretty obvious that you're not from around here, or this world for that matter so where are you from?"

Lance looked at her suspiciously, "why do you want to know?" He questioned.

Yuffie gave him an innocent stare, "I'm just curious," she answered.

Lance sighed, "I'm from Terra Firma."

"What's that?" Yuffie asked still wanting to know.

"It's another world far away from this one," Lance explained, "it's similar to this world in some ways, but it's different at the same time."

"I'm guessing that everyone on your world are giant talking animals."

"And this world is inhabited by creatures called…humans, right?" Lance asked.

Yuffie nodded, "Yeah." She gave Lance a funny look.

"Oh, it's just that…we don't have humans on our world," Lance replied in response to the look Yuffie was giving him.

"I guessed as much…" Yuffie responded as she lay down,_ "w_ell I'm gonna get some sleep, what about you?"

Lance shook his head, "someone has to keep watch, to make sure we don't get attacked," He stated.

Yuffie gave Lance an "I know the truth look", but she didn't say anything on the matter. "Fine…whatever, night."

"Night."

Lance stared at Yuffie for a moment and after he had made sure that she was asleep turned his attention to the dying embers on the fire. He found himself thinking about everything that had gone on in the past couple of days, and he thought about Angel. Angel, how he missed her, Lance hadn't seen Angel since they were separated and he couldn't help but worry about her, he hoped against hope that Angel and the others were alright. Lance stayed awake for half the night, he continued to stare at the now burned out logs and waited for the waves of unconsciousness to overcome him and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Angel," Lance said in his head, "where are you? Please be ok."

* * *

**Well there you have it, chapter 4 is now complete. What happens next? Find out in chapter 5 which will be coming soon. Please feel free to comment, but remember be constructive in your criticisms. That way I can make any improvements, and please be gentle as this is my first fanfic. **


	5. Journey to Coral

**Chapter 5: Journey to Coral**

It had been two hours since Drogo and Tifa left Edge to head for the Western Continent. As soon as they had left Edge Tifa called a neighbour to keep an eye on Marlene and Denzel and she even called them herself to reassure them that she wouldn't be gone for more than a couple of days. Since the new Highway had been built passing to the other side of the mountains was easier than it was before and had cut half on hour off their over all journey.

"Wow!" Tifa exclaimed as they passed the Mythril Mines, "and to think a few years back we had to cross the marshes and walk through the Mythril Mines."

Drogo smiled at Tifa, "I guess it's a good thing they built this Highway then."

Thanks to the improvements Drogo had made to the car it was able to go twice as fast as before and it had much better suspension on it. It wasn't long before they were about to pass Fort Condor.

"Hey look!" Tifa yelled and she pointed to a mountain to their left. "There's Fort Condor!"

Drogo looked at where Tifa was pointing and he gave her a confused stare. "Why is it called Fort Condor?" He asked.

"Because all the condors used to live there," Tifa answered with a sigh, she remembered the gang fighting Shinra on Fort Condor for the Huge Materia a few years back. Tifa herself was in Midel tending to Cloud while he was ill with Mako Posioning.

"I see…" Drogo responded he saw the sad look on Tifa's face and he quickly changed the subject. "How many miles till we reach Junon?"

Tifa brighten up, "let's see," she started to thin, "it's about 4000 miles to Junon."

"Right…" Drogo said with a wide grin on his face, "no problem."

Drogo pushed a red button and the exhausts began to ignite.

Tifa stared at Drogo, "what button did you just press?" She asked a look of worry and fear on her face.

Drogo grinned at Tifa, "nitrox afterburner," he answered slyly.

"Nitrox what...!?" Tifa yelled, she fell back in her chair as the nitrox afterburner kicked in causing the car to charge forwards. The speedometer almost broke trying to register the speed, a digital speedometer was saying 500-510mph.

Tifa glared at Drogo, "are you trying to destroy my car and get us killed in the process?" She shouted and she bawled her fist threatningly at Drogo.

"Relax Tifa," Drogo stated calmly, "I improved the body work so the car can go twice as fast as it is now."

Tifa continued to stare at Drogo, "twice as fast?"

Drogo nodded, "yeah," he pushed another button next to the gear stick and a moving bar appeared on the screen of the onboard computer_ . "_That's the car's performance," Drogo explained as he pointed at the moving bars on the screen.

Tifa looked at the screen, "I see. Were you by any chance a mechanic?" She asked curiously.

Drogo shook his head, "no," he answered in great detail, "I learned by street racing. I was the King of thieves so I stole a lot of cars."

Tifa stared at Drogo in shock, "but you look too young to be the King of the Thieves," she stated then just out of curiosity she added, "how old are you?"

"19," Drogo answered keeping his eyes on the road, "I became skilled at a young age."

"How old were you when you became the King of Thieves?"

"13," He answered briefly.

Tifa continued to give him a shocked stare, "you were that young?"

Drogo grinned at Tifa, "and I was that skilled," he stated smugly.

"How old were you when you became a thief?" Tifa found herself deeper into Drogo's past, she didn't mean to, it was just that she was interested in people's pasts. After she had a lot of practice what with helping Cloud find himself when they were both in the life stream.

Drogo sighed, "11," he answered wondering when Tifa was going to stop asking questions about his past.

"Was it a family thing?"

Drogo shook his head and he began to look sad,_ "_Not really," was all he said.

Tifa looked at Drogo, "then…" she began.

Drogo hung his head, "I lost my family," he finished Tifa's sentence.

"Oh…" Tifa replied, trying to think of something she could say to console him, but she knew that it was too late for that. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's ok," Drogo replied, he looked at the speedometer and noticed that it was going down.

"How did it happen?" Tifa continued to ask questions.

"The house burned down with them in it," Drogo answered a hint of sadness in his voice. It had taken him a while to finally get over his family's death, and now it was being dragged up again. Drogo knew that it wasn't Tifa's fault, she was just curious, he didn't say anything else about it, but he just pushed the nitrox afterburner button again.

"I lost my family too," Tifa stated trying to console Drogo.

"Well at least you didn't have a drinking problem like I did," Drogo admitted, he focused on the road again.

"No," Tifa replied sadly, " but I was lonely and depressed for a while."

"I see," Drogo said sympathetically, he knew what it meant to lose a family since he went through it himself. He knew how it felt to be alone, "what happened to your family?"

"My mother died when I was about seven," Tifa explained, she was over it now to an extent, but it still haunted her sometimes. "And my father was murdered, but I don't really want to talk about it."

"Oh…"

Tifa quickly steered the subject away from the death of her parents. _"_So…you said you had a drinking problem."

Drogo nodded, "yeah, I started drinking strong alcohol to forget my past." Drogo wasn't ashamed to admit his drinking problem anymore.

Tifa stared at Drogo, her eyes were wide with shock._ "_Why would you want to do that?" She asked purely out of concern.

Drogo sighed, "I lost my family," he answered, "I wanted to forget my sorrow."

"How old were you when you lost your family?"

"I was 11 years old," Drogo explained truthfully, the truth wasn't such a taboo subhect to Drogo anymore. "I became a thief a few days after I lost my family."

"And you started drinking?" Tifa questioned still unable to believe that Drogo actually did that to himself.

Drogo nodded, "yeah," came the reply, "I drunk so much that I got to the point where the strongest alcohol was my every day drink, I could drink 4 bottles of the stuff without falling unconscious, a normal person couldn't take one sip of it."

"What was the strongest alcohol you drank?"

"Deadly Nightshade."

"I've never heard of it," Tifa stated looking confused.

"It's powerful stuff," Drogo answered.

"Didn't you think about stopping?"

Drogo looked at Tifa,_ "_from the moment I started drinking," he said telling her everything. "I was hooked on the stuff. Besides my life was a complete wreck, I even tried to kill myself by drinking five bottles of Triple Nightshade."

Tifa stared at Drogo in shock at what he had just said. "Why did you do that?" She asked quickly.

Drogo hung his head, "I got into an argument with Sunny," he answered sadly, "she tried to get me to stop but I wouldn't listen to her. I remembered my family and what they were like, I tried too hard to forget them and it didn't work. In the end, I almost died."

"What happened?"

"My heart stopped," Drogo continued, "Max had to use a shock spell to restart it. Then he used a hangover cure called the Old Oyster to wake me up. After that, I talked to Sunny and she said for the sake of my health I should quit drinking. Now I only drink Sake."

Tifa heaved a huge sigh of relief and she smiled at Drogo, "Sunny must be truly amazing to get you to stop drinking."

Drogo smiled back at Tifa, "oh, she is, Sunny helped me to turn my life around. I'm now one of the best cops in my town."

"Yeah…" Tifa agreed, "I was always so worried about Cloud."

Drogo gave Tifa a knowing look, "Geostigma, right?" He asked.

"Well, yes and no…" Tifa continued, she stared at Drogo when she realised what he had said. "How do you know about Geostigma?"

Drogo grinned at Tifa, "I read some books on the world history," he explained, "meteor fall, Geostigma, Omega Weapon, Jenova."

"Yeah," Tifa stated, "those were some tough times, but we managed to defeat Sephiroth and Jenova and stop meteor. With some help from our friends, but Cloud was feeling a lot of guilt afterwards."

"Then I…read your old diary that was under your bed," Drogo confessed, he flinched slightly as he learned first hand the previous night what Tifa was capable of.

Tifa stared at Drogo with a mixture of anger and shock,_ "_you found my diary?" Was all she said.

Drogo grinned, "yes," he said, "the electric lock was easy to break."

"You shouldn't read other people's diaries!" Tifa yelled at Drogo.

"Hey, it was taunting me," Drogo said in his defence, "oh, you left 8000gil in between the pages."

"Drogo!"

"I didn't spend it on me," Drogo replied, "I spent it on the car."

Tifa breathed in deeply, "ok," she said calmly, "but you really shouldn't take things that don't belong to you."

"I didn't take it," Drogo stated quickly, insulted that Tifa would think that of him. "Your car didn't even start when I tried to turn it on."

Tifa sighed as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Drogo was right._ "_I suppose it did need fixing," she agreed, "anyway, how much of my diary did you actually read?"

"Well," Drogo started to answer, "the page I got up to was where Vincent had defeated Omega Weapon, you and Cloud had a great idea too."

"You didn't read passed that did you?" Tifa asked a look of worry was clearly visible on her face.

"Unless you've forgotten that was the last page," Drogo stated with a wide grin on his face. "It took you that long to admit to cloud you feel that way?"

"I..." Tifa stammered while glaring at Drogo, "it was complicated, Cloud had a lot of issues."

Drogo nodded, "I read about Cloud not remembering who he was, Aerith, and your dream about you and Cloud going…"

"Stop right there!" Tifa quickly cut in before Drogo could finish his sentence.

Drogo laughed at the expression on Tifa's face.

"Cloud felt guilty and responsible for Aerith's death," Tifa tried to explain herself but she knew it was useless.

Drogo's grin grew wider, "is that why you slept with him?" He asked slyly.

"No!" Tifa yelled wishing that Drogo would just drop it.

"Oh, so it was your own guilt?" Drogo questioned playfully.

Tifa gave Drogo an evil glare, "you're overstepping the mark."

"Ok, ok, I'll stop," Drogo said out of fear of getting the crap kicked out of him. "Sheesh, you remind me of a certain bat who would sooner shoot a fireball at me if I overstep the mark."

"Who's that?" Tifa quizzed.

"Pandora," Drogo replied, "she's a black mage. She once worked for a guy who tried to kill us, she's arrogant and she loves Max."

Tifa smiled at Drogo, "is she Max's girlfriend."

Drogo shook his head, "no worse…" he said with a disgusted look on his face, "she's his wife, and is soon to be the Queen of the Kitsunes."

Tifa gave Drogo a confused stare, "what's a Kitsune?" She asked anxious to find out more.

"A Kitsune is a fox with multiple tails," Drogo explained to Tifa, "Celeste the oldest Kitsune has 9 tails, Max has 5 tails and Nightshade has 7 tails."

"Who's Nightshade?"

"Max's father," Drogo replied with an amused expression on his face, "they didn't get along at first but after a while they found closure."

"Why didn't they get along?" Tifa questioned enquiringly.

"Max grew up in an orphanage," Drogo enjoyed talking about his friend's lives, "Nightshade was on the run because his brother made him a wanted man."

Tifa was shocked at this news, "why would his own brother do that to him?"

"It gets worse, Max's mum was killed by Nightshade's brother."

Tifa shook her head, "Max sure has some strange family relationships."

"Oh it gets better," Drogo continued, "Max's cousin tried to have him killed, she tried to use Nightshade to find the soul of some evil queen. Then she fused with said evil queen to become omni powerful."

"That's terrible!" Tifa exclaimed angrily, "I hope she got what she deserved!"

"Oh we managed to defeat her, it took all of us to do it, but we finally won. Max and Pandora got married and are waiting to be crowned."

"And you all went your separate ways?" Tifa asked, she knew all too well what all her friends did after they had saved the world.

"I went to live with Sunny and I got married to her," Drogo told Tifa, "Lance and Angel went back to their home town to rebuild it, they also got married, Isis became a bounty hunter, and Nightshade lives in the palace with Max and Pandora. He's like an accountant to make sure they don't spend too much money."

"How long were your worlds at peace for?"

"For some time now," Drogo answered, "I still can't believe that I got a job as a cop."

Tifa smiled at Drogo, "well it just goes to show that you can turn your life around, especially when you have someone to help you," she stated encouragingly.

Drogo nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "so how many of you saved your world?"

"Let's see," Tifa explained as she counted off all her friends on her fingers, "there was. Cloud, me, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, Reeve and Cait Sith."

"Cid swears a lot right?" Drogo asked.

Tifa nodded and smirked, "yes, he can't say anything without swearing. But there's still one other person who without her we wouldn't even be here." She hung her head sadly.

Drogo gave Tifa a sympathetic look, "Aerith?"

Tifa looked up at Drogo, "yeah, I still miss her sometimes, we all do."

"Hmmm," Drogo changed the subject, "you said Vincent was a sour case right?"

Tifa nodded and she grinned, "sometimes it's hard to tell who's more miserable, Cloud or Vincent."

"Isis is just as miserable," Drogo replied he too was grinning, "she calculates the chance of success before I do something. She wields a lot of guns and is a bit of a show off with them."

Tifa laughed at this, "that sounds like Vincent."

Drogo also laughed, "if those two ever meet up, they could write a book on how to be a show off and a misery guts," he said wittily.

"Yeah, what are your other friends like?"

"Well," Drogo stated, "Angel's a noble, she's quite upper class and has a lot of etiquette."

Tifa laughed, "maybe she could give Cid a few pointers," she suggested as a joke.

"Lance," Drogo continued, "is Mr Straight arrow, he's a bodyguard who's now married to Angel. It took a while but now I can talk to him without exchanging insults."

Tifa gave Drogo an amused look, "you never got along, did you?"

"It was friendly banter!" Drogo yelled quickly causing Tifa to laugh.

"I can imagine."

"Nightshade is very calm and under control at times. He only speaks when he has to and is never out of place."

"How old is Nightshade?" Tifa found herself asking.

"39," Drogo answered.

"And he hangs around with teenagers?"

"Hey, 39 is still very young for a Kitsune. They live for…well, forever."

"You mean they don't age?" Tifa questioned.

Drogo shook his head, "they stop aging after they become adults," he explained carefully, "believe it or not, the whole group drank an elixir, now we can't die of old age."

"So Kitsunes can't die?"

"They can still be killed," Drogo continued his explanation, "Max's mum had her spine severed by Nightshade's brother. Nightshade had to watch the whole thing knowing that he couldn't do anything about it."

Tifa gave Drogo a worred look, "why couldn't he do anything?"

"He was stunned, his brother's doing."

Tifa shook her head, "poor Nightshade," she said sympathetically, "I guess the prospect of becoming a single parent was too much for him."

Drogo shook his head, "it wasn't that, Nightshade had to go into hiding. He didn't want that kind of life for Max."

"And Max thought that Nightshade had abandoned him and didn't care."

"Yeah," Drogo agreed, "it took a while but they finally patched things up."

"Yeah…so what are your other friends like?"

"The only people I have to tell you about are Max and Pandora," Drogo answered, "Pandora is a fem fatal, she looks nice but she can be quite deadly, she's kind but can be harsh when she needs to. Insulting her will get you a fireball up your ass, she uses boots and magic in fights and does anything in her power to keep her friends safe."

Tifa tried hard not to laugh, "didn't you say you had a fireball up the ass a few times?" She asked gleefully.

"Yeah, she's really powerful. In fact she's on par with Max when it comes to magic."

"Are you afraid of her?" Tifa asked.

"Only when she's angry," Drogo explained, "especially when she fuses two spells together. I can safely say that I ran with my tail between my legs." He saw the smirk on Tifa's face. "Hey you would too if you saw a fireball as big as a house above someone's head."

Tifa looked impressed, "she seems really talented."

"Max is just as talented when it comes to magic."

"What's Max like?" Tifa asked curiously, "I know I've heard his voice on the phone but…"

"He's really friendly," Drogo replied, "a quick thinker, likes to build stuff all the time."

"Sounds like someone I know."

Drogo: He has an alter ego.

Tifa: What do you mean?

Drogo: Max and Nightshade have Dark Kitsune blood in them. They have dark forms, in battle the dark forms are useful but Max had to learn how to control his, if he didn't he might have killed Pandora.

Tifa: Killed?

Drogo: Max's darker half was uncontrollable for a time, he almost strangled Pandora, but Max turned back to normal and had to use CPR

Tifa: What happened after that?

Drogo: Max took lessons from Nightshade on how to control it.

Tifa: And he's been able to control it since?

Drogo: Yeah, in a fight it can be real helpful in dispatching enemies

Tifa: How is it triggered?

Drogo: Max taps into his dark powers, he fills up with hatred for his enemy and turns in to his darker half. After that the enemies soon die.

Tifa: I see. How did Max and Nightshade have Dark Kitsune blood in them?

Drogo: Nightshade was born half Dark Kitsune and Max was born ¼ Dark Kitsune. The Dark Kitsunes captured him at one point and altered his DNA.

Tifa: Altered his DNA?

Drogo: Replaced half his Kitsune blood with Dark blood.

Tifa: So he's now half Dark Kitsune.

Drogo nodded,_ "y_eah."

"Hmmm..." Tifa thought for a while, but her thoughts were interrupted as she saw Junon in the background, "hey look!" She exclaimed, "there's Junon!"

Drogo also saw Junon, "that's Junon?" He asked staring at Tifa.

Tifa nodded, "yes," she replied.

Drogo stared at Tifa, "where's the parking lot?"

Tifa stared back at him, "the parking lot is inside Junon."

Drogo grinned sheepishly, "oh..."

After five minutes Drogo and Tifa arrive in Junon, Drogo dropped the speed to 90mph.

Tifa stared at Drogo,_ "_you do know that there is a 30mph speed limit on this road," Tifa warned him.

Drogo stared back at Tifa, "and me being a cop means nothing on your world?"

"I know that," Tifa retorted, "but the cops here don't."

"Oh…right, sorry," Drogo apologised as he dropped his speed to 30mph._ "_Is there a ferry so we can take the car?"

"There should be one docking now," Tifa answered, "but we have to buy tickets first."

Drogo nodded, "you get the tickets and I'll wait here."

"Good idea," Tifa agreed, "the last thing people need right now is seeing a giant talking hedgehog, no offence."

Drogo grinned, "none taken."

"I'll go and get the tickets you stay here."

Tifa got out of the car and walked across the parking lot to the nearby ticket booth to buy the ferry tickets. Another car rolled up beside Drogo, the window wound down and a street racer looked at the car.

"Hey!" The street racer yelled as he laughed at Tifa's car. "What are you doing with that piece of trash?"

Tifa came out of the ticket booth and made her way back towards the car where she saw the street racer talking to Drogo.

"What's going on?" Tifa demanded staring at the street racer.

"This guy's ride is a piece of junk," The street racer laughed, "I bet my car could beat it."

Tifa glared at the street racer, "actually," she stated through gritted teeth, "I think you'll find that that's my car and we have a ferry to catch."

The street racer laughed even harder, "that car is the biggest pile of shit I've ever seen!" He yelled loudly.

Drogo grinned at the street racer, "what are you wagering?" He asked slyly.

Tifa stared at Drogo in disbelief, "Drogo!"

The street racer grinned back, "Pink Slips," He said confident that he'd win.

"You're on_," _Drogoagreed, he looked at his surroundings and he saw a bridge not too far away, "that bridge is half a mile away," Drogo stated, "the first one there wins."

Tifa got into the passenger seat and glared at Drogo,"are you crazy?"

Drogo looked at Tifa, "I know what I'm doing," He replied confidently.

"As soon as the light turns green," The street racer told them, "it's on."

"I thought you wanted to find Sunny," Tifa reminded Drogo.

"Don't worry," Drogo reassured Tifa, "we'll find her, and you'll have two cars."

Tifa sighed, "I just hope you know what you're doing."

The light turned green and both cars raced off down the street, despite the modifications Drogo added to Tifa's car, the street racer's car was far superior and it wasn't long before the street racer's car began to pull ahead. As the car began to pull away Drogo shifted the car from 3rd gear to 4th gear.

"Damn," Drogo cursed under his breath, "he's got a good car."

"We have to beat him," Tifa said urgently, "or we'll lose the car."

"Don't worry, I'm on it."

Drogo shifted the car into 5th gear and it began to speed up as it raced round the corner on to another street. The street racer's car stopped pulling away.

"We're catching up!" Tifa squealed in excitement.

Drogo nodded, "yeah," he said enthusiastically, he pointed to the bridge that was even closer now,_ "_and the bridge is a ¼ of mile away."

"Can't you make the car go any faster?"

"Yeah..." Drogo replied, "see…" He pusheed the Nitrox afterburner button and shouted at the street racer as they sped passed, the speedometer began to read 590-600 and was still climbing,"ya!"

The street racer banged his fists on the steering wheel, "no, no, no, no!"

The car Drogo and Tifa were in crossed the bridge and both cars parked in a quiet spot.

Tifa smirked at the street racer, "so…" she said smugly, "you were saying?"

The street racer sighed, "fine, take my car, but I will be back with a faster car, you'd better watch out for me cos i will be back!"

"Yeah…sure."

The street racer stormed off.

Drogo: got out of the driver's side, "Tifa you take this car," he told her, "I'm going to give the new one a test run."

Tifa climbed over into the driver's seat as Drogo got into the new car._ "_Ok, we better get going, the ferry leaves in ten minutes."

Within ten minutes the cars were docked on the ferry.

"Hmmm…" Drogo thought for a while, then he spoke to Tifa, "I wonder if they sell any Sake."

"Maybe," Tifa spoke back, "I could go and find out. Just try to keep a low profile, ok."

Drogo gave Tifa a sceptical look,"err…how?"

"Well," Tifa tried to explain as best as she could, "you could flatten the spines on your back."

"And the spines on my head?" Drogo asked as he pointed to his head spines.

"You used to be a thief right," Tifa replied, "surely you would have had to disguise yourself at one point."

Drogo nodded, "never as a human though," he stated, "I only disguised myself in different clothing."

"Well, all you have to do is hide your spines and tail."

"The spines on my head," Drogo repeated his earlier statment.

Tifa shrugged trying to think of an answer. "Maybe you could wear something with a hood."

"How about I stay in the car and wait," Drogo suggested, "and you get any stuff I need, as in Sake?"

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked.

Drogo nodded, "I'm used to waiting things out," he replied.

"I'll be right back."

Tifa left the parking lot on the ferry and went upstairs. Drogo crossed his legs, he leaned against the car and went into a trance like state. After 40 minutes he snapped out of his trance and turned the car's computer on.

"Hmmm…" Drogo said to himself, "this guy's a street racer who likes Techno music."

Tifa returned to the car with a bottle of Sake.

"You're lucky," she said as she handed over a bottle of Sake to Drogo, "there was only one bottle left."

Drogo took a swig out of the bottle,"thanks," he replied gratefully, "hmmm… the guy I beat is a Techno fan."

"I guess you also like Techno, huh?" Tifa asked curiously.

Drogo nodded,"yeah," he answered, "and if it's Techno I can mod this car inside and out."

Tifa stared at Drogo, "what do you mean?"

"Any street racer who likes Techno also drives street bred cars," Drogo explained, "they're perfect in balance can reach 180 on their own and when modified can reach 300 on their own."

Tifa nodded obviously impressed, "I see," she responded, "well it'll be 2 hours until we reach the other side. I think I'll call Cloud, see where he is."

"Tell Max I said hi."

"I will," Tifa took her Phs out of her pocket and dialled Cloud's number, the phone rang.

Drogo turned the music system on as the car's neon lights flashed to the beat. He climbed into the driver's seat and listened to the music.

"I'm gonna go somewhere a bit quieter," Tifa told Drogo.

"Ok."

Tifa walked over to the furthest corner of the parking lot just as Cloud answered the phone.

"Hello?" Cloud asked on the phone.

"Cloud it's me," Tifa answered.

"Can I hear music in the background?" Cloud asked Tifa, "I thought you were supposed to be meeting us in Coral."

"We're on the Ferry now," Tifa replied, "Drogo's just listening to the sound system on the new car."

"New car?"

Tifa: sighed,"don't ask…anyway,where are you?"

"We're just going passed the Gold Saucer," Cloud answered.

Tifa was shocked to hear that Cloud was almost in Coral,_ "_You're nearly there already!"

"Max is riding my bike," Cloud replied.

"Max can drive a bike?"

"Yeah."

"Even when we do reach Coral and meet Sunny," Tifa stated, "we still need to find the rest of them."

Cloud thought about this, "hmmm…have you found anyone else?"

Tifa shook her head, "no, Drogo doesn't seem to know where the rest of his friends are. Oh, tell Max that Drogo said hi."

"I heard," Max suddenly spoke up on Cloud's end.

"How good is his hearing?" Tifa asked curiously.

"He's psychic," Cloud answered.

"Oh yeah…I forgot."

"Tell Drogo I said hi back," Max said to Tifa, "I'm guessing he won the new car."

"How did you know?" Tifa questioned.

"He has a car back home that can reach 300mph no problem," Max answered.

"I see…" Tifa said, "well I guess we'll be seeing you both and Sunny in Coral."

"See ya," Cloud said to Tifa.

"Bye Cloud."

Tifa hung up on the phone and walked back over to Drogo, she told him about the conversation she had with Cloud and that they were almost there.

"I'm guessing they're almost there."

"Yeah," Tifa replied, "listen I'm gonna go upstairs for a bit."

Drogo nodded, "ok."

Tifa left the parking lot and went upstairs for some fresh air, it gave her a chance to think quietly to herself. Well almost quietly as the music from Drogo's car below began to get louder, a member of staff walked up to her.

"Excuse me miss," he said politely, "can you turn your car off, the other passengers are complaining about the noise."

"Just a second," Tifa walked back down the stairs and headed straight to Drogo's car.

"Drogo, turn the car off," she said loudly so that he could hear her over the music.

Drogo turned the car's sound system off,"what?" He asked just as loudly.

"The staff told me to turn the car off, people were complaining."

"Oh," Drogo said apologetically, "how long have we got till we reach the other side?"

Tifa looked at her watch, "about ten minutes," she answered.

Drogo and Tifa could hear a voice on the intercom. "Please return to your vehicles we will be docking shortly!"

"Let's go," Tifa said as she got into her car and turned the engine on.

Drogo sighed happily, "finally," he turned the car's engine on.

After 20 minutes of getting off the ferry the cars pulled out of the docks and were on there way to Coral.

"I wonder if Cloud and Max are already there," Tifa thought to herself, her thoughts were cut short when she heard Drogo's voice on her car radio.

"Testing 1, 2…"

What the hell?" Tifa asked.

"I installed a microphone system into the cars so we can talk while on the road," Drogo explained.

"I can hear you loud and clear," Tifa spoke into the microphone.

"That's good," Drogo replied, "you lead I'll follow."

Ten minutes later and Drogo and Tifa were driving down the road to Coral, the road was narrow and bumpy but they still carried on going.

"How much longer?" Drogo asked Tifa.

"About five more minutes," Tifa answered.

Drogo sighed and muttered to himself, "why oh why did we have to take this shitty road?"

"It used to be a train track," Tifa spoke up.

"And…"

"When Coral was being rebuilt," Tifa explained, "they converted the train track into a road to make it easier to get to Coral."

"What was that thing we passed five minutes a go?" Drogo questioned Tifa.

"That was a Mako reactor."

"So that's what that thing was? Does it still work?"

"No, the WRO shut it down a few months after meteor." Tifa replied.

"Aaaahhh…"

"It's not much further to Coral now," Tifa said, "oh, what energy source did they use on your world?"

"Well we had natural sources like dams and solar panels," Drogo answered.

"Were they dangerous?"

"Well if you fell off a dam you would die, but they weren't harmful to the planet."

"Not like Mako was," Tifa stated.

Tifa looked out in front of her and saw the town of Coral not too far away.

"It looks like we're almost there," Tifa told Drogo.

* * *

Meanwhile Barret and Sunny were sat in the living room in Barret's house, they had received word that Cloud and Max and Tifa and Drogo were on their way. 

Barret looked at Sunny, "So," he said making an effort at conversation, "this Drogo guy sounds like a real charmer."

Sunny nodded, "yes he is," she responded, "I remember when I first met him."

Barret and Sunny heard the sound of a motorbike outside.

"Sounds like Cloud just parked outside," Barret stated as he walked over to the window to look outside.

Music could be heard in the background Sunny tapped the same tune on the arm of her chair.

Barret turned to face Sunny,_ "_how do you know that tune?" He asked obviously impressed.

"Drogo likes Techno music," Sunny answered still tapping the tune.

Cloud and Max walked in through the door.

"We're here," Cloud announced as he and Max entered the living room, "hey does anyone hear techno music in the background?"

Sunny stood up, "that's Drogo!"

Max waved at Sunny to get her attention, "hi Sunny."

Sunny stared at Max, "Max is that you?" She asked rubbing her eyes, unsure of whether or not this was a dream.

Max nodded, "Yeah, Cloud let me ride his bike."

Sunny looked over at Cloud,_ "_Hi," she said nervously.

"Hi," Cloud said back just as nervously.

"I'm Sunny."

"I'm Cloud."

"So you found Max?"

Cloud nodded, "yeah."

Two cars pulled up, one car had neon lights flashing.

"That's Drogo!" Sunny squealed in excitement, "sorry but I have to go!" She ran out of the room and out of the house to meet Drogo.

Tifa got out of her car, the speakers in the other car were switched off and Drogo got out of it.

Drogo tossed the keys to Tifa,"here catch."

Tifa caught the keys, "thanks," she said gratefully.

Drogo started looking at his surroundings hoping to spot any signe of Sunny. "I wonder where Sunny is," He whispered to himself. Drogo didn't suspect a thing as Sunny crept up behind him and gave him a big hug.

"Drogo!" Sunny yelled happily tightening her grip. "There you are! Oh, I've missed you so much!"

Drogo smiled at Sunny, "it's good to see you Sunny," he gasped,"air, I need air."

Sunny released Drogo and he slowly began to recover from being hugged. "Where have you been?"

Drogo sighed, "long story," he answered, "we had to take a ferry to get here."

Sunny stared at Drogo, "we?"

Drogo pointed at Tifa, "Tifa showed me how to get here."

Sunny turned to look at Tifa and she smiled at her,_ "_thank you."

Tifa smiled back, "it was no problem he wasn't much trouble."

Cloud walked out of the house closely followed by Max and Barret, he stared at Tifa's car. "What happened to your car?" He asked her.

"Drogo…" Tifa started.

"I may have improved it…" Drogo cut in quickly, "a tiny bit…"

Tifa glared at Drogo, "a tiny bit…"

"So how did you get the other car?" Cloud quickly changed the subject.

"We won it in a drag race,"

Drogo laughed nervously, "eh he he he… Oh shit."

Sunny glared at Drogo, "that's not very cop like! Is it?" She admonished, pointing at Drogo.

"He called the car shit," Drogo was quick to defend himself. "I had to do something."

"Anyway," Tifa quickly cut in before Sunny could respond, "we're here now, that's the main thing."

"I guess we'll be staying here for the night, right?" Max asked staring intently at Barret as he said this.

Barret smiled and nodded, "sure it's no trouble." He turned his attention to Tifa. "Marlene is safe, right?"

Tifa nodded, "yes," she answeredm, "a neighbour is keeping an eye on her and Denzel."

"Hey, do you have any spare motorbikes?" Max asked eager to get on the road again to find Pandora and the others.

"I haven't seen any around," Sunny stated shrugging her shoulders.

Tifa looked at Max, "you want to find your wife right?"

Max nodded,_ "_yeah, but I can't borrow Cloud's bike, so I was hoping if I could borrow a bike that no one's using."

"There's a bike in my garage," Barret answered pointing to a rundown building next to the house, "but you'll have to fix it as it is all banged up right now."

Max and Drogo give Barret an evil grin.

"How much would you be willing to let us borrow to fix up said bike?" Drogo asked trying to choose his words carefully. "And if you're willing you could lend us some extra money so I can fix up the cars."

Barret thought about it for a while then he nodded, "alright, but would you guys mind looking at my truck, it's been acting up a lot lately?" Barret requested.

Max nodded, "I'm sure I could fix it in no time," he replied grinning smugly. "Where are the tools?"

"They should be in the garage," Barret answered, "I'll take you there."

Barret led Max, Drogo and Sunny to his garage where he kept the bike and the truck. Tifa and Cloud brought the cars into the garage and returned to the house with Barret, Max set off to work on the bike and Drogo made a start on the new car, while Sunny watched him glad that she was with him again.

* * *

**There you have it, chapter 5 is finally finished. I know there wasn't much action in that one but I guess you can't have action in ever chapter. Chapter 6 is coming soon, just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy vii or any affiliated characters, they belong to Square Enix. I do however own characters I made myself.**


	6. Night at the Gold Saucer

**Chapter 6: Night At The Gold Saucer**

It had been 40 whole minutes since Drogo, Tifa, Cloud and Max had arrived in Coral. Max had been working on the bike and Drogo was working on the new car he had won in the street race.

"Sunny can you pass me a ¾ spanner," Drogo asked Sunny, he was currently underneath car making some modifications to the hydraulics and the suspension. Sunny was watching him.

"Ok," Sunny answered as she reached into the tool kit to find a 3/4 spanner. After a couple of minutes searching she found one and handed it over to Drogo,_ "_here you go."

Drogo took the spanner and smiled at Sunny, "thanks," he said gratefully as he continued to make his modifications, "now to see if the car is running smoother."

Drogo put the key in the ignition switch and inserted a number code into the computer.

"78669," Drogo said to himself , the car roared to life as Drogo pushed the start button. The computer lit up as a performance chart wass displayed. "Seems like Tifa's new car will work even better," Drogo stated, he looked at the car, he was satisfied with it for now.

"The car seems to be doing ok," Sunny agreed as she hugged Drogo,_ "_I'm so glad you're back." Sunny kissed Drogo on the cheek.

"Thanks Sunny," Drogo said as he blushed slightly at this.

On the other side of the garage Max was working on the bike.

"Hmmm…" Max thought to himself, "this should work." Max turned the bike on as it too roared to life. After checking a computer hooked up to the bike, Max turned the bike off and he unhooked the computer. "Ok," he told Drogo and Sunny, "I'm gonna go back to the house, you guys take all the time in the world." He grinned slyly and gave them a wink as he said this. Max left the garage leaving Drogo and Sunny alone, Drogo grinned at Sunny.

"Now, where were we?"

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Sunny asked quickly knowing what Drogo had in mind.

Drogo gave Sunny a disappointed look._ "_Awwww…" He moaned.

Sunny laughed when she saw his face, "don't worry," she said reassuringly, "it'll just be the two of us."

"Well I was thinking of kissing each other in the car until the cows come home," Drogo told Sunny his plan, "but your idea is just as good."

Sunny took Drogo by the hand and she dragged him out of the garage, "come on, I know a great place we can go."

_"_Ok we'll go with your plan."

"Barret mentioned this place to me," Sunny explained to Drogo, "it sounds really cool and fun."

_"_Ok lets go."

Sunny and Drogo walked out of town to what looked like a cable car.

Drogo stared at the cable car, "this is it?" He asked trying to hide his disappointment.

Sunny shook her head, "no," she answered, "we have to get into the cable car, it'll take us to the other side. At least that's what Barret told me."

Drogo and Sunny entered the cable car and it took them over the desert. Sunny and Drogo looked out of the window and were amazed at what they saw. It was the Gold Saucer theme park that was in the shape of a giant artificial tree, with bright neon lights, loud music and filled with the laughter of people having fun. Ten minutes later the cable car arrived at the station and Drogo and Sunny stepped out of the cable car and walked over to the entrance.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer!" An attendant greeted them cheerfully and he saw Drogo and Sunny together holding hands, "and what a cute couple. You just won an all day free entry into the park."

Sunny stared at the attendant, "you mean, we get in free?" She asked unable to believe her luck.

The attendant nodded, "yep, go right in."

"Thanks,"replied gratefully as she dragged Drogo towards the entrance,_ "_lets go Drogo."

After two minutes of walking Drogo and Sunny entered a circular room with many tunnels leading from it. There was a map on the wall and Sunny and Drogo took a look at it.

"Lets see, where do you want to go first?" Sunny asked Drogo.

Drogo read all the attractions on the map, "Haunted Mansion Hotel, Gold Saucer Battle Arena, Theme Park Rides, Chocobo racing, more Arcades, Gondola Ride, Theatre, The Heart Stopper?"

"Oooohhhh…Chocobos!" Sunny squealed in excitement, "that sounds like fun, let's go!"

"Can't we go on the Heart Stopper first?" Drogo pleaded giving Sunny the puppy dog expression.

Sunny gavr Drogo a confused look, "what's the Heart Stopper?"

Drogo shrugged in response,"looks like a ride of some kind."

"Sounds like fun," Sunny said anyway, she was willing to try anything once.

They both walked away from the map and slid down the tunnel leading to the Heart Stopper. Drogo failed to mention that the Heart Stopper was a ten star roller-coaster.

Drogo grinned to himself,_ "_I love being vague sometimes," he whispered quietly so that Sunny couldn't hear him.

When the couple got to the ride, they were seated in and the restraints fell over their heads.

Sunny looked at Drogo,_ "_Drogo are you sure this ride is safe?" She asked him, unsure of what to think.

"Well they have to make all the safety precautions," Drogo answered reassuringly, "otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to run it."

Sunny sighed and sat back in her seat, "I guess you're right."

The car began its slow ascent up the track, passing through a long dark tunnel.

Sunny had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, "I have a bad feeling about this."

The car zoomed out of the tunnel and Sunny managed to get a good look at the ride.

Sunny screwed her eyes shut, "oh shhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed as the car sped down the narrow track and made a quick left bank into a duel loop de loop. "Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Wooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!" Drogo yelled enthusiastically as he waved his arms in the air. "Come on Sunny open your eyes!"

Sunny shook her head, "I'd rather not!" She shouted.

"Come on!" Drogo insisted, "you're missing out on a lot of fun!"

Sunny sighed and she slowly opened her eyes, the ride made a right bank and the track left the saucer the ride was in and it approached the roof of the Chocobo race track. Sunny and Drogo could see a ¾ loop that went through a hole in the roof.

Sunny's grew wide with shock, "is that a vertical drop?"

"Looks like it!"

"Oh…nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sunny yelled at the top of her lungs, the car went down the vertical drop and into the Chocobo saucer, the car reached the bottom of the drop and met with a five barrelled loop de loop round the Chocobo track. The car left the final loop and looked like it was going to be submerged within the lake on the race track.

"It's going underwater!" Sunny had regained her ability to speak after the shock of the vertical drop.

The car brushed the surface of the water but didn't submerge, the car left the water and went up a ramp both Drogo and Sunny saw two tyres and a vertical hill.

"How are we gonna…?" Drogo started to ask and he felt a bump underneath him as the car hit the tyres and shot forwards up the vertical track. When they reached the top it half looped and spiralled down the track the track went off the Chocobo saucer roof and did several twists and turns, and loop de loops before reaching a station.

Two things attached to the side of the car, it took Drogo a second to figure out what they were before they activated and their purpose become clear. The devices reveal themselves to be jets as the car went along a vertical track with left and right banks, 3 loop de loops to a vertical drop, the track twisted round as the car turned upside down by the track travelling the underbelly of the theme park saucer and it finally approached the end of the ride. Drogo and Sunny stepped off the ride and made their way back to the main entrance again.

"Phew," Sunny heaved a huge sigh of relief to be back on solid ground again, "that sure was scary."

"That…was…AWESOME!" Drogo yelled.

"I guess it was kind of fun…" Sunny admitted, "after I got over the shock of all those twists and turns and loop de loops."

Drogo grinned at Sunny, "do you want to go again?" He asked eagerly.

"No!" Sunny snapped quickly.

Drogo laughed, "come on it was fun the first time."

"I've tried it once," Sunny replied, "I don't want to go on it again."

"But the adrenaline rush," Drogo started, "the fear, the excitement, that was a ten star ride!"

"I know," Sunny agreed, "but I'm not really a roller-coaster person."

Drogo gave Sunny a sceptical look, "that's not what you were saying that time we went to the Terra Firma carnival," he told her grinning slyly. "You dragged me on to every roller-coaster in the carnival."

"Alright, I did like it!" Sunny shouted, "it's just that I'm trying to get my centre of balance back."

"Ok, ok," Drogo said not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice. "You pick the next thing to do."

Sunny thought for a while, "hmmm…"

"I have a guide of the park here," Drogo said to Sunny, he took a leaflet out of his pocket and gave to her. "It'll tell us everything there is to do." Drogo grinned at Sunny"Oh, and I also got a souvenir." Drogo held up a picture of them on the Heart Stopper saying the words, We Survived the Heart Stopper.

Sunny looked at the picture. "I didn't really pull that face, did I?" She asked sceptically.

Drogo nodded trying hard to contain his laughter. "The camera must've been on the vertical drop."

Sunny scowled at Drogo, "they always put the camera in the worst places," she complained.

"You've never been one for vertical drops, have you?"

Sunny shook her head, "not really," she answered, "now lets look at the guide and see what else there is."

Drogo gave Sunny the guide and she looked at it. "Hmmm…" Sunny whispered quietly, "let's see, there's the Haunted Mansion Hotel, Battle Arena, Chocobos…" Her eyes lit up when she saw the word chocobos. "Ooooohhhhh! Chocobos, that sounds like fun, lets go see the Chocobos!"

Drogo gave Sunny a confused look,_ "_what are Chocobos?"

"Well," Sunny explained as best she could what chocobos were. "Cloud told me that Chocobos are some kind of bird you can ride. They're supposed to be really cute and friendly."

"How fast do they go?" Drogo asked.

"Cloud said it depends on the type of Chocobo."

Drogo nodded, "ok, lets go."

Drogo and Sunny slid down the tunnel that led to the Chocobo racing track, they walked up the steps and entered the arena.

Drogo stared at the two cards Sunny held in her hand. "What's that you're holding?" Drogo questioned curiously.

"Oh," Sunny answered as she held up the cards, "these are Id cards."

"Id cards for what?"

Sunny tapped her nose slyly, "you'll see."

Sunny and Drogo walked over to the attendant sitting at a desk.

"Yes miss, how may I help you?"

"Hi, we'd like to see the Chocobos please," Sunny politely requested.

"One moment please." The attendant blew her bubble gum as she typed something on to the computer, after a few seconds of typing she faced Sunny again and the bubble popped." Go through the door and you want door number 3," the attenant answered helpfully as she pointed to a door at the back of the stadium.

"Thanks, lets go, Drogo."

Drogo followed Sunny as they walked through the door, they walked through door 3 and found that it was a stable.

_"_Awwww…they're so cute!" Sunny exclaimed hardly able to contain her excitement.

A gold coloured Chocobo walked over to the fence, the fence was labelled Lucky. "Kiweee…" Lucky called, as it stared curiously at the newcomers.

Sunny reached out and stroked Lucky on the head, it closed its eyes slightly. It appeared to enjoy the attention it was getting. "This must be Cloud's Chocobo," Sunny stated.

Drogo gave Sunny a confused look. "Cloud has a Chocobo?"

Sunny nodded, "yeah, he said that he couldn't take care of it any more so he gave it to the Gold Saucer," she explained everything that Cloud had told her. "He gave me these id cards."

Drogo turned his attention to a screen above his head. It was telling everyone the names of the chocobos that were participating in the race and the names of their jockeys. Lucky's name was on the list but there was no name next to the chocobo's name. "Hey!" Drogo called to Sunny, "the screen says you can race the Chocobo."

Sunny smiled at Drogo, "do you want to race it?"

Drogo smiled back, "sure," he replied, "it's not like these chickens can run fast."

Sunny gave Drogo a warning look, "I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you."

The Chocobos lined up on the track, Drogo looked at the other competitors and saw Sunny on the side lines. Two commentators were riding in a hot air balloon floating above the track.

"Good luck Drogo!" Sunny yelled giving him a thumbs up sign.

The sound of a gun shot was heard as a signal for the racers to go.

Drogo grinned at the chocobos, "their not so fa...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!" Drogo yelled in shock as Lucky zoomed out of the gate and Drogo shot off the saddle. He would have landed on the floor if it wasn't for his foot getting caught in the stirrups.

Sunny placed her hands over her mouth. "Drogo!" She yelled.

"Well that's a funny way to ride!" Commentator one shouted down the microphone so that everyone could hear him.

Commentator 2 nodded in agreement, "hmmm, yes, I believe they call that pavement kissing!" He yelled jokingly.

Both the commentators laughed, and Sunny glared at them and she reached for her bow, when she realised that she had left it at Barret's house.

"Crap," Sunny cursed to herself, "I knew I'd forgotten something."

"The jockey seems to be a new comer to Chocobos!" Commentator one commented, "but Lucky is still going strong being a five time champion!"

Drogo's spines flared out to avoid hitting the pavement as he tried to grab hold of the stirrups. He grabbed hold of the stirrups and pulled himself up to find that the Chocobo had no head.

"Huh?" Drogo turned his head round to find that he was riding backwards

"I've heard of show boating but I've never seen anyone go to that extreme!" Commentator two laughed loudly into the microphone.

"Maybe he wanted to wave to the competition!" Commentator one joked.

"STOP SLAGGING OFF MY HUSBAND!" Sunny yelled at the commentators.

Commentator two looked down at the crowd and he saw Sunny jumping up and down. "Looks like the new jockey has an obsessed fan girl!"

"Hey!"

Drogo flipped on his saddle and he began to ride properly.

"Huh?" Drogo cried out as he spotted a jump and he shot off his saddle because he couldn't get his feet into the stirrups, and he landed standing on the saddle.

"I've heard of freestyle but that is a new way to ride!" Commentator one was intrigued by what he saw as a unique way of riding a chocobo.

"Yes, I've heard of this, they call it Choco-surfing!" Commentator two continued to make jokes at Drogo's expense.

"Come on Drogo!" Sunny yelled encouragingly.

Drogo attempted to get back on to the saddle by dropping down, but he missed the stirrups and he landed spread eagled on the saddle.

Commentator two flinched when he saw that, "I don't care where your from, landing spread eagled on the saddle of a Chocobo had to hurt!" He declared loudly.

"I feel sympathy for his unborn children!" Commentator one added, he also flinched when he saw Drogo land on the saddle.

"Hey!" Sunny shouted again.

"Owwww…!" Drogo yelled in a high pitched voice. Drogo found the stirrups of the saddle and he coughed his voice back to normal. Lucky jumped as the saddle shot upwards and hit Drogo in between the legs.

"Owwww…" Drogo cried out again in an even higher pitched voice, "pain!"

Lucky passed the line and the Chocobos were returned to their pens. Drogo was given 100GP for winning.

Sunny ran up to Drogo and hugged him. "Drogo, are you ok?" She asked her face was filled with concern.

"Yeah…" Drogo replied in a high pitched voice, but he soon coughed it back into place._ "_I'm fine, just…in pain in a few places." Drogo winced in pain as he said this.

"Maybe we should find somewhere for you to rest for a while," Sunny suggested not taking her eyes off Drogo.

Drogo and Sunny walked out of the Chocobo area.

"Where to next?" Drogo asked Sunny.

"Let's see," Sunny said as she took the guide out of her pocket and began to look at it._ "_Why don't we go to the arcade." She suggested.

"Which one?" Drogo asked.

"You choose," came the reply.

"How about the side show booths?"

"Ok."

Drogo and Sunny made their way to the side show booth arcades. By the time they had reached their destination Drogo's walking pattern had returned to normal. They saw a hammer and bell stand and a muscular guy had a go and got a score of 800.

"Oh! Sorry sir," the announcer said apologetically, but he wasn't really sorry at all. "Nice try but you need 1000 points to win a prize."

Drogo walked up to the announcer, "can I have a try?" He asked.

The announcer smiled at him, "sure," he said encouragingly, "step right up, 10 gil!"

Drogo paid and he lifted the hammer. "It's weighted on one side," he said to himself, "if I use the right stance and swinging speed…"

Drogo twisted the hammer round so that the heavy end would hit the pad. He held the hammer behind him, he swung round and side flipped as he landed the hammer hit the pad, the score total showed up as 1750. It took the announcer a second to figure what just happened.

"WINNER!" He yelled as the word winner flashed on the screen behind him. "Here is your prize!" The announcer passed a giant stuffed teddy bear to Drogo.

"Here Sunny." Drogo gave the teddy to Sunny.

Sunny took the teddy, "thanks Drogo," she replied gratefully as she kissed him on the cheek.

After a log chopping contest with a sword, a knock the cans down with 3 balls, beating a strong man in a tug-o-war, winning a basket ball challenge and dart game the couple left the side shows.

"Thanks again for winning all these for me Drogo."

Drogo smiled at Sunny, "are you sure you don't want me to carry one?" Drogo asked pointing towards the bags full of stuffed toys that Sunny was carrying.

Sunny shook her head, "no, it's fine."

"I'm glad the attendant gave you two bags to carry them all."

"Yeah," Sunny said in agreement, "I think they were shocked that you kept winning."

Drogo grinned at Sunny, "side shows always have a twist," he explained.

"I remember whenever a carnival came into town," Sunny reminisced, "Spike always used to win at everything."

Drogo shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, he knew that whenever Spike was mentioned Sunny would get upset. So he quickly changed the subject. "Hey, do you want to go to the other arcades?"

Sunny nodded, "ok."

After half an hour of arcade games, the couple made their way to the gondola ride. Drogo and Sunny stepped into the gondola and sat down next to each other.

"This place sure is beautiful," Sunny commented as she looked out of the window.

Drogo nodded, "yeah."

The gondola started moving.

"So…are you glad we came here after all?" Sunny asked grinning at Drogo.

"Yeah," Drogo agreed, "other than being hit in the same place twice, I had a great time."

The gondola reached the top of the Gold Saucer.

Sunny laughed at Drogo's response, "yeah, hey!" She looked out of the window again to see the park below. "You can see the whole park from up here!"

Drogo also looked out of the window and was amazed by what he saw, "yeah." Was all he could say

"And the fireworks…" Sunny added as they heard loud bangs and the sky was filled with colour, "they're so pretty."

Drogo nodded, "yeah they are."

Sunny turned to face Drogo, "I'm glad you're safe," she said out of the blue.

Drogo stared at her, "what's brought all this on?"

Sunny sighed, "it's just that now we're here alone," Sunny answered, "where it's quiet, I just thought about what would have happened if…"

Drogo took hold of Sunny's hand in both of his and he turned his body round to face her. "Sunny, I'd search to the ends of world for you."

Sunny smiled, "I'd do the same for you."

Drogo kissed Sunny to reassure her, Sunny pushed Drogo back on to the seat. As time seemed to slip by, Sunny and Drogo kissed each other passionately, to them seconds seemed like hours. The car pulled to a stop and the attendant opened the door to find them on the seat of the gondola.

"Ahem!" The attendant coughed loudly to get their attention.

Sunny and Drogo quickly broke apart.

"Sorry to interrupt," the attendant said apologetically, "but the ride has finished."

Drogo straightened his jacket and Sunny tried to get her hair into a suitable manner. Drogo and Sunny left the Gold Saucer and took the cable car back to Coral. Within ten minutes they arrived in Coral town and walked into Barret's house and found Max lay on the sofa watching TV.

"Hi Max, you still up?" Drogo asked staring at his friend lying spread out on the couch.

Max looked over at Drogo and Sunny and gave them a weary smile. "I couldn't sleep," He told them trying hard not to yawn. "So I thought I'd watch TV for a while."

"Are Cloud, Tifa and Barret in bed?" Sunny asked Max.

Max nodded, "yeah," he grinned slyly at them, "you two look like you had fun." He commented.

"Yeah we did," Sunny replied, "we went to the Gold Saucer theme park."

"Yeah…Sunny, you have a bit of hair sticking out," Max informed her trying not to laugh.

"I…oh…"Sunny removed her headband and she attempted to straighten her hair out before putting her headband back in.

"Sunny and I are gonna go to bed now," Drogo informed Max, "don't stay up too late."

"Ok."

Drogo and Sunny walked upstairs, they entered their room and locked the door. Sunny put her prizes down and they both sat on the bed.

"I really enjoyed myself tonight," Sunny said with a smile.

Drogo grinned at Sunny, "yeah, now remind me," he asked her slyly, "where were we."

Sunny pushed Drogo back onto the bed and she kissed him as music from the Gold Saucer could be heard in the night. Downstairs Max heard a thud.

"Uhhhh…" Max shook his head slowly as he tried to get the sound out of his head. He turned the volume up on the TV so that he could hear the canned laughter of a late night comedy show over the noises coming from Drogo and Sunny's room.

Max sighed sadly, "where are you Pandora?" He asked in his head, "I miss you, life seems empty to me, please be ok."

* * *

**Chapter 6 is finally complete, I thought that I'd make this chapter more light-hearted. Sunny and Drogo had a bit of a romantic moment. Lol, don't worry, there'll be plenty more romantic scenes between the other characters. Chapter 7 will be on its way soon, please feel free to make any constructive comments.**


	7. Stranger at the WRO Headquarters

**Chapter 7: Stranger at the WRO Headquarters**

In another part of the World in a highly classified location, two men were watching over an unconscious woman. One of them was tall and lanky. He had long red hair tied up in a pony tail and his clothing looked seriously unprofessional with his shirt hanging out of his trousers. The other man was the exact opposite. He was slightly taller than the first man and well built, he was bald and he wore a pair of shades over his eyes. He looked more professional than the other man and it was hard to believe that these two were best friends.

"So…what do you think she is?" The red haired man called Reno asked his partner.

"She looks like some kind of bat," the bald man answered, his name was Rude, "maybe she's one of Hojo's rejects."

Reno shook his head and tossed that theory aside, "nah," he replied, "she's too cute for that."

Another man entered the room.

"What are you two up to?" He asked staring sternly at Reno and Rude.

"Boss!" Reno yelled nearly jumping out of his skin, "we were just wondering what this thing is." He pointed at the young woman lying on the bed, "we found it in the streets."

Their boss walked over to the unconscious woman and he began to look at her carefully. "Hmmm…" He said half to himself, half to Reno and Rude. "I see a young female in strange clothing, she has the anatomy of a human, but looks like a bat."

"She just appeared on the street," Rude explained in a taciturn tone. Rude was never one to talk much. After all Reno did enough talking for the both of them. "And hit Reno in the process."

Reno glared at Rude, "Hey! I resent that!" He yelled jokingly.

Their boss merely rolled his eyes at Reno's remark. "Just call me when she wakes up," he ordered, "I have a few questions for her."

Reno mock saluted him, "sure thing boss, Rude and I will let you know when she wakes up."

Reno and Rude's boss left the room, his footsteps could be heard as he walked down the corridor. Reno and Rude continued to watch over the woman.

Reno turned to face Rude, "so what are we eating?" He asked curiously.

"I was thinking take out," Rude replied briefly.

"Tseng and Elena are coming right?"

"They're on a date."

Reno rolled his eyes, "great…" he muttered sarcastically, "I heard that Cloud and Tifa are out of town so asking them if they want to come is a no go."

"I guess we could ask Vincent," Rude suggested.

Reno laughed and gave Rude a "you're kidding right" look. "That miserable git! No way!"

"So who's paying?" Rude asked.

"We'll split it, 50/50," Reno answered.

"So what are we ordering?"

Reno grinned, "I was thinking pizza."

Rude shook his head, "too spicy."

"Wutinian?" Reno suggested, he knew that Rude didn't like Pepperoni pizza, but he liked Wutinian.

Rude nodded, "ok, noodles it is," Rude agreed.

"Is Reeve still working on Cait Sith?" Reno asked Rude, "how many times has it been destroyed?"

Rude shrugged his shoulders, "I've lost count."

"Me too," Reno responded.

Rude grinned at Reno, "So, have you got a girl yet?" He questioned.

Reno nodded and grinned, "yeah," Reno replied casually, "she's already pissed at me."

"I heard Barret's got an oil well working," Rude changed the subject, he knew what Reno was like around women. he was a true ladies man.

"Really?" Reno asked intrigued, "next time I'm in Edge, I'm gonna visit the Seventh Heaven to see Cloud and Tifa, you wanna come along?"

Rude shook his head, "no…" he gave his typical one word answers, he then turned his attention to the woman lying on the bed._ "_I wonder if there's more than just this one."

Reno stared at Rude, "this one what?"

"The woman on the bed," Rude stated as he pointed at her, "she doesn't look human."

The woman then heard a familiar voice in her head, "where are you Pandora? I miss you, life seems empty to me, please be ok."

Pandora moaned as she stirred. "Ohhhh…"

Reno stared at the stirring woman, "hey did you see that?" He asked Rude, "I'll go get the boss."

Reno ran out of the room to get his boss, and Rude just stood there not taking his eyes off the woman.

Pandora sat up, "where am I?" She asked the man standing oposite her. She quickly scanned her surroundings to find that she was in a small room, in fact the only furniture that was in said room, was a bed which she was currently sitting on and two comfortable looking chairs. As usual Rude didn't respond but he still stood there staring intently at Pandora.

Pandora stared back at Rude, "what's the matter?" She asked.

"If you must know," Rude finally answered her, "you're in the WRO Headquarters."

Pandora gave Rude a confused look, "what's the WRO?"

A guy dressed in a white suit entered the room.

"At ease Rude," he ordered Rude relaxed a little, the man in the white suit turned to face Pandora,_ "_so you're awake I see."

"Who are you?" Pandora asked the man feeling slightly afraid, "where's Max?"

"I'm Rufus Shinra," Rufus pointed to himself as he told Pandora his name, "as for this Max, I don't know who you're talking about."

"Ok, just remain calm," Pandora said to herself, "this probably isn't as bad as you think." Then she said out loud, "Well... Rufus, Max is my life partner. I haven't seen him since we were separated."

Rufus stared at Pandora, "separated?" Rufus questioned thinking that Pandora meant they were divorced.

"He was testing something he invented," Pandora explained, "there was a storm, we got separated. The next thing I know, I woke up here."

"You fell on top of me," Reno told her instinctively rubbing his back as he said this. "And trust me, you're heavy."

Pandora turned to face Reno,_ "_I thought my landing felt a little soft."

"Where do you come from?" Rufus began interrogating her.

"I come from a world called Terra Firma," Pandora answered truthfully.

Rufus thought about this, "interesting. Besides this Max, are there any others?"

Pandora nodded, "yes, my friends."

"I see, Reno," Rufus order facing Reno, "call Cloud and the others maybe they know something."

Reno nodded, "ok."

"What are you going to do to me?" Pandora found herself asking.

"Nothing," Rufus told her, "although Shinra has a dark past, I want nothing but to help the world out of the sorry state it's in. If you had come to harm our world, you would have forced your way out of here by now."

"So I take it I'm not going to be confined to this room."

Rufus shook his head, "no, Reno is calling some people now to see if they have found your friends."

"I see..." Pandora responded, "thanks. What do you mean by dark past?" She asked curiously although she had a feeling that she was overstepping the mark a tiny bit.

"I'd rather not go into great detail about that," Rufus said vaguely.

Pandora nodded to show that she understood, "ok."

"You are currently in the WRO HQ," Rufus quickly changed the subject, as far as he was concerned, Shinra's tyranical reign was in the past, where it belonged. "The World Restoration Organization."

"I guess from the name you're trying to get the world back into the state it was before."

Rufus nodded, "yes, you're very observant," he smiled at her and he sat down on a chair nearest to the bed. "So what are you?"

"I'm a bat," Pandora answered, she was starting to feel more comfortable now that she knew these people meant her no harm.

Rufus thought about Pandora's response, "you have the anatomy of a human but you're a bat, hmmm...interesting."

Pandora gave Rufus a confused stare, "what's a human?" She asked although she guessed that the answer was obvious.

"I am a human," Rufus explained, "in our world bats are small, rodents of death with fangs."

"I see..." Pandora responded, "well where I come from bats are very different."

Rufus smiled at her, "I guessed, is Max also a bat?"

Pandora shook her head, "no...he's a Kitsune."

Rufus racked his brains trying to remember where he had heard or seen the word Kitsune before, then it hit him,_ "_a Kitsune," he said intrigued, "in mythology, they're multi tailed foxes."

Pandora nodded, "that's what Max is," she told Rufus.

"I see."

Reno re-entered the room, he was holding a portable phone. "Hey boss," he said urgently, "I think I found something." Renospoke into the phone. "Denzel, tell Rufus what you just told me."Reno requested as he put the phone on loud speaker.

"Tifa went to Coral with a purple furred hedgehog," Denzel spoke up on the phone.

Pandora heard this and she leapt to her feet, "that's Drogo!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah," Denzel heard Pandora speaking, "you must be one of Drogo's friends. They set off yesterday, Tifa rang half an hour ago to check on me and Marlene."

"Ok, Denzel," Rufus told the boy, grateful for the information, "I need to speak to Barret Wallace, bye."

"See ya," Denzel said and he hung up on the phone.

Reno handed the phone to Rufus and he dialled a number.

* * *

Max lay face down on the couch in Barret's house, his tails were sticking in the air. He didn't appear to have gotten much sleep the night before, his eye were bleary and his hair was more unruly than usual. A few seconds later he heard the phone ringing. 

"Uhhh…" Max moaned, "who'd be ringing at this time in a morning?" _He _tried to reach for the phone on the coffee table in front of him but he was unsuccessful. After three unsuccessful tries, Max stared at the phone and moved it telekinetically to his hand.

_"_Hello…" Max spoke sleepily into the phone.

"Is this Barret Wallace's house?" Rufus asked in his formal phone voice.

"Yeah," Max answered still half asleep, "but I think he's in the kitchen.Great Max," he muttered to himself, "you just realised that you're not on Terra Firma or the Kitsune World anymore." Max shouted to Barret,_ "_Barret! Get in here!" He yelled irritably due to lack of sleep, "there's someone with a snooty accent that wants to talk to you!"

Barret entered the living room and took the phone off Max. "Yello?" He spoke in his usual cheary voice.

"Barret, it's Rufus," Rufus answered, "I was just wondering if Tifa is there with a purple hedgehog..."

"Rufus," Barret told him, "you just talked to a five tailed fox who doesn't seem to have gotten much sleep."

"I BLAME DROGO AND SUNNY FOR THE LOSS OF SLEEP!" Max yelled so loud that his voice could clearly be heard on the other end of the phone.

"That's Max!" Pandora exclaimed on the loud speaker.

"Who's this?" Barret asked.

"It's Pandora, let me talk to Max."

"Err…ok," Barret replied, "Max someone wants to talk to you."

"If it's about the snooty comment!" Max shouted not bothering to keep his voice down, "I really don't care, I'll say it to their face if I have to!"

"Just take the phone!" Barret yelled at Max.

"Wow, he really hasn't had much sleep," Pandora said quietly to herself.

Max took the phone off Barret, "Hello?"

"Max, it's me!" Pandora yelled down the phone.

"Please tell me that's a certain female bat who I love dearly on the opposite end of the phone," Max said in his head hardly daring to believe that he was hearing Pandora's voice on the other end of the phone.

"The one and only!" Pandora shouted cheerfully

"Pandora!" Max exclaimed unable to contain his excitement, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine, where are you?"

"I'm in a town called Coral," Max explained, "Drogo and Sunny are here."

"Drogo and Sunny are there too?"

"They're the ones that kept me awake half the night!"

"What?"

Max looked at Barret,_ "_Barret, isby any chance the room that Drogo and Sunny stayed in above the living room ?" He asked.

Barret nodded, "yeah."

"Take a wild stab in the dark," Max told Pandora, "they were happy to see each other."

At that very moment, Drogo walked down the stairs. Like Max, he looked like he hadn't slept much. There were shadows under his eyes and he walked like the living dead, but he was happy nevertheless.

"Guess who just walked down the stairs?" Max asked Pandora.

"Was that Drogo by any chance?"

"Yeah, he looks exhausted. I wonder why," Max muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at Drogo.

"Tell him and Sunny I said hi," Pandora requested.

"Drogo, Pandora said hi."

Drogo stared at Max, "you found her…damn…" Drogo said but when he saw the evil glare Max was giving him he added,_ "_I mean…that's great news."

"Hey! I resent that!" Pandora yelled down the phone.

"He, he…" Drogo laughed nervously, "she heard me, didn't she?"

"DAMN STRAIGHT I HEARD YOU!" Pandora shouted down the phone she didn't care who heard her. "DO YOU WANT ANOTHER FIREBALL SHOVED UP THAT SPINY ASS OF YOURS?"

"What did she say?" Drogo stuck his finger in his ear.

"She said that she heard you," Max told Drogo, "and she asked if you wanted another fireball up your ass."

Sunny walked down the stairs in a makeshift nightie.

"What's with all the yelling?" Sunny asked with a yawn.

"We found Pandora," Drogo told her about the phone conversation.

Sunny smiled, "that's great news!" She exclaimed.

Max stared bleary eyed at Sunny, "need I ask what you two got up to last night?"

"It's best that you don't know," Sunny stated casting Max a nervous look.

"Well I think I have every right to know since your antics kept me awake half the night!"

"Trust me, it's best you don't know," Sunny repeated.

Tifa and Cloud entered the living room.

"And the fact that you were worried about Pandora had nothing to do with it," Tifa said as she stared at Max.

"Of course I was worried," Max replied, "but Drogo and Sunny's antics didn't help considering I could hear them!"

"I was in the room next to them and I didn't hear anything," Tifa told him.

"And I was in the room opposite to them, and I didn't hear anything either," Cloud added.

"The floors are secure," Barret explained, "but sound gets through them easily."

"Right…Hey Pandora, where are you?" Max asked.

"I'm in a place called the WRO Headquarters," Pandora answered, "but I'm not sure where that is."

"It's near Kalm," Rufus cut in.

"That's back on the Eastern Continent," Tifa explained.

Drogo grinned, "so there's a chance that I'll see that street racer again."

"Most likely," Tifa told him, she sighed as she did so.

"So I have another chance to whip his ass."

"Isn't there a quicker way?" Sunny asked looking at Cloud.

"We could call Cid," Cloud suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Tifa agreed, "it would be quicker and much less hassle."

"I'm guessing you want to use the phone, right?" Max asked them.

"Sorry Pandora," Drogo added, "but we need to use the phone."

"Ok, see you guys soon."

"See ya!" Everyone said goodbye to Pandora.

"Bye."

Max and Pandora hung up on the phone.

* * *

On Pandora's side. 

So, Cid's coming with his airship?" Reno asked staring intently at Rufus.

"Who's Cid?" Pandora found herself asking.

"He's a pilot," Reno explained trying hard not to laugh, "but he can't exchange four words without five pieces of vulgar language."

"I see…" Pandora said and her stomach began to rumble, "hey, is it ok if I get some food, I'm starving."

Reno nodded, "sure but you'll need to wear this." He held out a WRO badge.

Pandora stared at the badge in Reno's hand, "why?"

"You don't look normal to others," Reno answered, "people might think that you're a monster."

"Oh…" Pandora took the badge off Reno and pinned it on to her top._ "_Thanks."

"_Pandora, can you hear me?"_ Pandora heard Max's voice clearly in her head.

_"Yes,"_ Pandora answered in her head.

_"Good,"_ Max replied, _"our link has been restored. Oh, if you hear voices like a kind woman and a stupid guy, that's_ _Zack_ _and Aerith_."

Zack'svoice echoed in their heads,_ "I'm not stupid!"_

_"I see what you mean,"_ Pandora said to Max, _"why am I hearing their voices?"_

_"Because of our telepathic link." _Max answered.

Pandora: _(In her head) Oh…I'm guessing that was…_

_"…That was Zack," _Max finished Pandora's sentence.

_"I was just checking up on Max when I heard the other voice,"_ Zack explained, _"Why can Pandora hear me? She's not a Kitsune."_

Areith's voice joined in the conversation, _"she's married to him, they have a telepathic bond. Max can hear our voices and Pandora is telepathically linked to him, that means she can hear us as well."_

_"Gee…Aerith,"_ Zack muttered sarcastically, _"is there anything you don't know?"_

_"Well I didn't know that you were dead until I died myself and saw you in the life stream," _Aerith answered playfully.

_"I mean now."_

_"Hmmm…no, there's nothing I don't know."_

_"You know as a Cetra, you're evil!"_

_"Guys,"_ Max quickly cut in, _"if you're gonna argue, then stay out of our heads."_

_"We're not arguing Max,"_ Aerith reassured him.

_" Really…" _Max said sceptically, _"it sounded like arguing to me. What about you Pandora?"_

_"Yeah,"_ Pandora agreed with Max, _"it sounded like arguing to me…listen, Zack."_

_"Yeah?" _Zack responded.

_"I know how you feel,"_ she told him sympathetically, _"sometimes there are things that Max knows and I don't. But that doesn't mean that I'm stupid, if there's something I don't know I just ask, and Max tells me in a way I'd understand. There are probably things that you know that Aerith doesn't know. You should aid each other in your knowledge not argue."_

_"Yeah_," Zack agrred, _"there are some things that I know that Aerith doesn't and…wait…that came out wrong."_

_"It's ok Zack,"_ Aerith told her partner encouragingly, _"we know what you mean. I guess I can show off with my knowledge sometimes, but you have all the inside information on Shinra and SOLDIER."_

_"So does Cloud…" _Zackstated miserably,_ "not that it matters anymore anyway, since Shinra as we knew it is no more and SOLDIER has long since disbanded."_

_"Listen guys,"_ Max yawned, _"I'm feeling a little tired."_

_"Your friends kept you awake all night huh?" _Zack questioned Max trying hard to contain his laughter.

_"Zack!" _Aerith yelled at him.

_"What? I'm just stating what happened."_

_"Anyway…"_ Max quickly cut in before Aerith could respond to Zack's statment._ "I'm gonna go and lie down for a while, so can you guys please stay out of my head and give me some peace for a little while. Oh…and don't start bugging Pandora either, ok."_

_"Ok,"_ Zack and Aerith said in perfect unison.

_"Like we said in the Shinra Mansion," _Zack added,_ "we'll be back to check up on you guys every now and then."_

_"Ok," _Max and Pandora agreed.

_"Bye for now," _Aerith said cheerfully as her voice disappeared from Max and Pandora's heads.

_"See ya," _Zack said his goodbye, _"hey Aerith, wait for me!"_ Zack called after Aerith before his voice also disappeared.

_"See you soon Max."_

_"Yeah, see you soon Pandora."_

Max's voice disappeared from Pandora's head, and Pandora was stood there alone staring into space.

"Are you ok?" Reno asked her, "you seem a little distracted."

Pandora snapped out of her trance, "I'm ok," she told him, "where's the cafeteria?"

"On the fifth floor," Reno answered and he started giving her directions, "it's the third door on the right. But bear in mind that people are busy here, so try not to disturb them, ok."

"I won't," Pandora promised smiling at Reno.

Reno smiled back, "good," he responded, "well me and Rude are gonna go." Reno waved goodbye to Pandora and he and Rude started walking out of the room.

"Where are you guys going?" Pandora called after them.

Reno and stopped and turned to face her, Rude just looked at Reno and he sighed, "it's clocking out time," he explained, "me and Rude are gonna order a take out. But we'll be back later."

"Oh ok," Pandora replied, "I guess I'll see you guys later."

Reno nodded, "yeah, bye Pandora." Reno and Rude walked out of the room leaving Pandora alone.

"Well, I better go and get some food," Pandora said to herself, Pandora left the room she was kept in while she was unconscious, and she started to explore the WRO HQ. It was a large compound that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless, it was bustling with people who were working hard.

"I guess working to get the planet back to its original state is no mean feat," she said in her head as the fifth person pushed passed her. Pandora re-entered the building her curiosity to find out more about this place far out-weighed her hunger at that moment in time, and instead of making her way to the cafeteria she made her way down the stairs until she came to what looked like a basement. Pandora continued walking down the tunnel until she came to a door. She knocked on the door but there was no answer.

"I guess there's no home."

Pandora was about to turn and leave but something was beckoning her into the room. She tried hard to resist the temptation to walk into the room, but when she couldn't resist it any longer she pushed the door open and walked in. Pandora was amazed to see that the room she had walked into was some kind of workshop.

"Wow," Pandora spoke quietly to herself but her voice echoed in the vast room, "this looks like the sort of place Max worked in over two years ago back in Metropolis."

Pandora began to look at all the machinery in the workshop and she was so immersed in the whole thing that she didn't notice someone sneak up behind her.

"Excuse me," A man's voice spoke behind her, "are you lost?"

Pandora jumped and whirled round to see a friendly looking man facing her. "Oh…sorry," she apologised quickly, she didn't know that someone else was in here. "I didn't see you there, I was just…"

The man just smiled at her and he politely waved her apology aside, "that's quite alright, Pandora."

Pandora gave the man a questioning look, "how do you know my name?" She asked feeling slightly unnerved.

"Rufus told me all about you," the man answered helpfully, "I'm Reeve by the way," He held out his hand for Pandora to shake and she shook it. "I'm the co-founder of the WRO."

"Co-founder," Pandora looked confused, "so I'm guessing that the other person who helped found this organisation is…"

Reeve nodded, "yes," he responded, "my partner is Rufus. He said that you were a quick thinker. He also told me that some of your friends had been located."

Pandora smiled at Reeve, "yeah…including my husband Max."

"You must be glad that he's been found."

Pandora nodded,"yeah," she answered, "I was so worried about him."

"Max is a Kitsune, right?" Reeve asked her, he saw the look on Pandora's face and he laughed,_ "_Rufus told me that as well," he explained, "I'd like to meet this Max, is he as smart as Rufus says he is?"

"Yeah!" Pandora exclaimed, "he's an inventor!"

Reeve grinned at Pandora, "he seems like my kind of guy," Reeve said, he had always wanted to find someone who was as passionate at inventing as he was.

"What do you mean?" Pandora asked.

"Max likes to tinker with things to see how they work," Reeve told Pandora, "so do I. I come down here sometimes to escape the hustle and bustle of the floors above, or if I want to make a few modifications on Cait Sith."

"Who's Cait Sith?" Pandora questioned inqusitively, she found herself wanting to know more.

"Come," Reeve said as he turned and walked to the other side of the room. Pandora followed him to what looked like a large table, a black and white robotic cat wearing a red cape and boots lay lifeless on the desk top.

"This is Cait Sith," Reeve answered as he pointed to the robotic cat on the table. _"_Of course I had to switch him off while I fixed him. He gets easily damaged sometimes, you know."

Pandora nodded, "I see."

Reeve picked up a spanner and began to add the finishing touches to Cait Sith before securing the back on him. "That should about do it," Reeve said proudly, "now to reactivate him." Reeve flicked a switch on Cait Sith's back and the robotic cat came to life he sat up looking confused for a minute but then he smiled when he saw Reeve.

"How are you feeling, Cait Sith?" Reeve asked the cat.

"I feel fine Reeve," Cait Sith replied he turned his head and stared at Pandora,"who's this?" He asked curiously.

"This is Pandora," Reeve told him, "she's new here. Pandora, I'd like you to meet Cait Sith."

"Hi," Pandora said quietly, she felt strange talking to animatronic cat.

"Well hello there lassie!" Caith Sith said a little too enthusiastically, "do you want your fortune told?"

"What?" Pandora asked looking confused, she had never heard of a fortune telling robot.

Reeve laughed,"don't worry," he reassured Pandora, "that's just Cait Sith's humour, he used to be a fortune teller at the Gold Saucer."

"I see…" Pandora replied.

"She looks a wee bit strange," Cait Sith commented, "where did she come from?"

"Look who's talking!" Pandora shot back glaring at Cait Sith.

"Cait Sith please be nice to our guest," Reeve admonished, "she's very far away from home."

"Ok Reeve."

"Sorry about Cait Sith," Reeve apologised to Pandora.

Pandora waved Reeve's apology aside, "that's ok…" It was at this moment that Pandora remembered what Rufus had told her. "Hey, Reeve."

"Yes?"

"Rufus said something about Shinra having a dark past," Pandora said choosing her words carefully, "what did he mean by that?"

Reeve looked away briefly and then he turned to face her again. "Shinra inc was once the richest, most powerful energy provider on the planet," Reeve started to explain, "they also had the most powerful army in the world."

"SOLDIER?" Pandora stated.

Reeve nodded then he gave her a questioning look, "yes, how did you know?"

Pandora thought for a little while, she couldn't tell Reeve that she heard spirits mention the word SOLDIER, "just a guess," she said finally.

"And a very good guess at that," Reeve commented, "anyway…" he continued with his explanation, "Shinra did some terrible things in the past and I regret to inform you that I have taken part in some of those things. I realised the error of my ways and I helped Avalanche save the Planet from Sephiroth and Meteor."

"I see."

"After Meteor was destroyed," Reeve continued, "Rufus was found in the rubble, he had survived Weapon's attack on Midgar and was full of regret for what was happening to the planet. So we both set up the WRO to help restore the planet to its normal state."

"Wow… " Pandora commented when Reeve had finshed his explanation. "I had no idea."

"I know Rufus did some terrible things in the past," Reeve told her, "but he's doing his best to make things right again."

There was a knock at the door and Rufus entered the room. "Reeve," Rufus spoke in his usual manner, "I hope I'm not intruding."

Reeve shook his head and smiled at Rufus, "no, of course not Rufus. I've just added the finishing touches to Cait Sith."

"I see…" Rufus stared at Cait Sith, sometimes he hated the robot, mainly because of his annoying voice, but he also had his uses. He turned to his left to see Pandora there.

"I see you've met Pandora."

Reeve nodded, "Yes," Reeve replied, "we were just talking."

"Really," Rufus responded he gave Reeve a sceptical look, "about what?"

"Nothing much," Pandora quickly cut in.

"Right," Rufus replied, "as you can see we're all very busy here at the moment, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't bother us."

"It's ok Rufus," Reeve stepped in, "she wasn't bothering me at all, in fact I'm just about done here."

Rufus smiled at Reeve, "good, because I need to talk to you for a few minutes. In our office though, it's more private."

"Alright," Reeve said, "sorry about this Pandora, maybe we can continue our talk some other time."

"Yeah," Pandora replied, "I'll look forward to it."

Rufus and Reeve left the workshop and Pandora crept behind them. She wanted to hear what was going on. She followed them all the way to the top floor and stood outside their office, hoping to catch a glimpse at what they were saying.

"What did you want to talk to me about Rufus?" Reeve asked his partner.

"It's incredible I must admit," Rufus replied, he paced round the room looking nervous.

"What is?" Reeve asked another question.

"That there could be more of them out there," Rufus answered, "more than we could ever imagine."

"What do you mean, Rufus?"

"Isn't it obvious Reeve?" Rufus questioned with an exasperated sigh, "if Pandora and the rest of her friends made it here, who's to say that more of them haven't already arrived?"

"But Pandora seems like a nice girl, I can't see her…"

"I trust Pandora," Rufus cut in, "and I trust her friends. But they are still aliens on our planet and anything could get through to our world and they may not be so friendly."

_"More of them," _Pandora repeated what Rufus said in her head, _"what does he mean by that? What else could there be?"_

Pandora didn't have a chance to listen to more of the conversation as Reno and Rude came up behind her.

"Are you lost?" Reno asked her playfully.

Pandora turned to face him, "no…no," she said quickly trying to think of an excuse. "I was just..."

"A new Wutinain resturant just opened in town," Rude interrupted, "we were gonna go and check it out. We were wondering if you wanted to join us."

"That is, if you haven't already eaten," Reno added.

"No," Pandora replied, "that'll be great, thanks guys."

"Let's go then," Reno said impatiently, "I heard this was a popular place."

Reno and Rude turned round and walked off, Pandora took one last glance at Rufus and Reeve's office, she was regretting not being able to hear more of their conversation but her stomach was growling and she realised that she hadn't eaten yet. Pandora followed Reno and Rude still thinking about what she had heard.

* * *

**Well that's chapter 7 complete, wow I'm on a roll here. Chapter 8 will be up shortly, as soon as I've written it, it may take a while. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy vii or any of the affiliated characters. I do however own characters that I created myself.**


	8. The Kitsune and the Beast

**Chapter 8: The Kitsune and the Beast**

It was approaching sunset in the area surrounding Cosmo Canyon, and a lone figure was stood on the top of the tallest canyon looking down into the valley below. Nanaki or Red as he was more commonly known to his friends always liked to stand on this canyon. It gave him a chance to reflect and to relax. After all the life of being the Guardian of Cosmo Canyon was a busy one, having to protect the canyon and having people asking for his advice. As much as he loved being Guardian, he never really had much time to himself and he longed to do some adventuring of his own.

"Hmmm…" Red said to himself, "it feels good to be out here on a cool evening." He started sniffing the cool air and he knew that dinner was soon on its way.

Because of his life as Guardian Red only really had a chance to hunt at night, not that he minded. In fact he preferred hunting when it was a lot cooler as Cosmo Canyon became extremely hot during the day. Red listened to the ground but he heard nothing, not the sound of hooves thumping on the ground as wild cattle grazed on what little grass there was in the area, not even the sound of crickets could be heard. The area was deathly silent and it unnerved Red.

"Strange," Red spoke calmly he wasn't one to lose his cool over something like this. "The cattle usually arrive by now to graze." He sniffed the air again and he found a smell that was strange to him. "What is that smell?" He asked as he continued to sniff the air. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, but it was new to him never the less. Red jumped from canyon to canyon until he landed softly on to the valley below. Red crept slowly along the valley, the smell grew stronger the further he walked. "It's definitely something new, I've never smelt anything like it before." Red carried on walking and he suddenly got an uneasy feeling.

"Something doesn't seem right here," He commented, Red wasn't frightened, he wasn't one to scare easily. But being an animal he can sense things better than any human and he didn't like what he was sensing. Red continued to walk through the valley, he knew the area well and he could navigate through it with his eyes shut, but now he was keeping his eyes, ears and nose peeled for anything even slightly out of the ordinary. Red came to a stop when he saw something lying in a heap on the ground, he crept up cautiously to the object and upon closer examination he found it was a body of some kind. But a body of what, it looked human, but it wasn't human, in fact Red hadn't seen anything like it before. Red sniffed the creature and found that it was still breathing. It wasn't hurt too badly but it had the odd cut and bruise.

"I wonder what this thing is?" Red asked himself, he was sure that his grandfather Bugen Hagen had books on this sort of thing in his observatory. Red jumped back as a soft moan escaped from the creature's throat. "Is it coming round?" Red looked at the creature and found that it was still unconscious. "No, now I know where that strange smell is coming from." Red nudged at the creature with his nose and with some difficulty he managed to get it on to his back. "I'll take him back to Cosmo Canyon, maybe the Elders will know what to do." Red darted of in the direction of Cosmo Canyon with the creature lying on his back.

Red walked through the entrance of Cosmo Canyon and the villagers stared in awe at the unconscious creature he was carrying.

"What do you suppose it is that master Nanaki has found?" One villager asked.

"Well whatever it is, it sure isn't human," Another villager spoke up.

Red ignored the villagers and made his way inside the canyon where an elder approached him.

"Master Nanaki," He greeted the beast. "What have you found?

"I've found him in the valley," Red answered, "I'm not sure what he is elder."

"Hmmm…" the elder thought for a while. "Perhaps master Bugen Hagen had books about this kind of thing."

"That's what I was thinking," Red agreed, "I'm going to take him up to grandfather's observatory now, but I need help."

The elder smiled at Red, "I'll see what I can do."

Red and the elder made their way to Bugen Hagen's observatory which was situated on top of the Canyon. The Elder and Red entered the building and the elder helped Red place the creature on to the sofa. Red was now able to get a closer look at the creature. He found that the creature was fox like in appearance, his fur was a reddish-brown colour, his eyes were still shut and he had blue spiky hair which extended down the length of his back all the way down to just above his seven tails. His clothes were torn slightly and he sported minor cuts and bruises.

"What do you suppose he is?" Red asked the elder.

"I've never seen anything like this before," the elder answered, he was just as confused as Red was. "He has the anatomy of a human, and yet he looks like a fox with multiple tails. Maybe Bugen Hagen has some books about this, I'll be right back."

The elder left the room leaving Red alone with the creature, the tip of his tail glowed brightly providing more light to the otherwise dimly lit room. Red stretched his body out and he was about to lie down on the rug next to the sofa when the creature began to stir.

"Ohhh…" He moaned softly, his blood red eyes fluttered open as he tried to get a good look at his surroundings but his vision was blurry.

Red saw the creature move. "Elder!" He yelled, "The creature, he's waking up!"

The elder ran back into the room, "He's awake?" The elder asked him.

Red nodded, "yes," he answered, "did you find anything?"

The elder shook his head, "no," he told Red, "I've never seen anything like this before."

Red: "That's alright," he told the elder, "I can take it from here." The elder left the observatory and Red walked up to the sofa and placed his front paws on to the sofa and pressed his face close to the creature.

"Where am I?" The creature asked groggily his vision slowly became clear and he saw Red's face staring back at him. "Aaaaaahhhhhhh!" He cried out.

Red quickly jumped back, his teeth were bared, his claws were outstretched and his tail was up in the air. The creature leapt off the sofa, his tails flowed all around him as he produced a concentrated ball of dark energy in his hand. For a while neither moved, but they continued to stare at each other intently. After a while Red began to lower his defences, he knew that this creature was a powerful one and Red could almost see the dark aura around him.

"Relax," Red called out to the creature, "I mean you no harm."

After hearing those words the energy ball in the creatures hand was quickly diminished and he lowered his defences. "You can talk?" He asked not taking his eyes off Red.

Red nodded, "Yes, it seems that you can talk as well, my name is Nanaki," Red introduced himself. "But my friends call me Red."

"I'm Nightshade," Nightshade replied, he looked down at his clothes and found that they were torn slightly, Nightshade sat back down on the sofa again and he began to calm down.

Red crept slowly up to the sofa and sat down facing Nightshade, "So what are you?" Red asked him curiously.

"I'm a Kitsune," came the reply. "It's a race of foxes with multiple tails."

"I see," Red replied, he had never heard of a Kitsune before and he was intrigued by Nightshade, especially since he could sense a dark aura within Nightshade, and yet there was also a light aura. Red couldn't see how dark and light could be in equal balance in one being. "I was just wondering," Red began to ask choosing his words carefully.

"Yes."

"When I found you unconscious in the valley," Red continued, "I could sense a dark aura around you and I sensed it again just now…"

"You want to know what that dark aura was," Nightshade cut in.

"Yes," Red replied, "How did you…"

"I read your mind," Nightshade answered, "Kitsunes are psychic, it's a curse as well as a blessing."

"I see…" Red said again.

"Anyway," Nightshade began to explain. "I was born half Dark Kitsune, Dark Kitsunes are dark versions of Kitsunes, but not all of them are evil. As such I have a dark form but I can tap into its powers without transforming, as you had just witnessed."

"I thought it was a bit strange that you could produce balls of dark energy," Red cut in, he was more and more intrigued about Nightshade's powers.

"My dark form is useful in battle," Nightshade told Red, "I can transform into it at will, but it took me years to learn how to fully control it."

"I see," Red said quietly, "so that explains your dark aura, and your light aura?"

"That'll be my Kitsune half," Nightshade answered, "Max is exactly the same as me."

Red gave nightshade a confused stare, "who's Max?" Red asked.

Nightshade hung his head, "he's my son," Nightshade explained everything that had happened, from his wife being killed, to saving Max from the Dark Kitsunes, all the way up to where they are now.

"So, he was born ¼ Dark Kitsune, and now he's half Dark Kitsune?"

Nightshade nodded, "yes," he answered, "Max had to learn how to control his dark side, he can now trigger it at will. We didn't always get on."

"How come?"

"It's complicated," Nightshade said vaguely, he didn't really want to have to go into too much detail about his and Max's falling out. "It took a while but we finally found closure, I haven't seen Max, or the others since we were separated in the storm."

"Well I didn't see anyone else down in that valley," Red told Nightshade, "I'm sure someone would have spotted them."

Nightshade nodded, he knew the beast was right, "yeah, someone's bound to have found them," Nightshade agreed but he couldn't help but worry about Max and the others. He pushed it to the back of his mind for now. "Hey, Red?" Nightshade found himself asking.

"Yes?"

"What are you?"

Red grinned at Nightshade, "I'll tell you what I told my friends years back," he answered vaguely. "I am what you see."

Nightshade gave Red a funny look, "You're what I see huh?

Red nodded, "that's right."

"So if I were to say that you were a lion…" Nightshade theorised.

"If that's what you see," Red cut in, "then that is what I am."

"I see…" Nightshade wasn't sure of what to think about this, there he was in the presence of an animal that was capable of speech. Then again with nightshade being a Kitsune he should have been more open minded about things like this. "Are there more of your kind?"

Red hung his head, "Alas no," he answered sadly, "as far as I know I'm the last of my race. But I've heard that there may be another member of my race out there."

"So why didn't you go looking for them?" Nightshade asked staring curiously at the beast.

"I've wanted to," Red told him, "I've been planning it since we saved the world from Meteor."

"So what stopped you?"

Red sighed, "my duties as Guardian of Cosmo Canyon, having to save the world again, the usual stuff."

"I see, what if you had help?"

"My other friends have their own lives to lead," Red answered.

"Well maybe you should take sometime off, to do a little soul searching."

"Maybe."

"So is it male or female?"

Red looked at Nightshade, "female," he answered confidently, he laughed when he saw the look on Nightshade's face. "The scent of a female is different to the scent of a male."

"And you can tell?"

"Of course," Red answered smugly, "I want to find her, I want to see another member of my kind, I want to, as humans call it, fall in love."

Nightshade snickered at this, "you mean you've never been in love?"

Red shook his head, "no, considering I grew up believing that I was the last of my race."

Nightshade stood up and glanced down at Red, "you're not missing much, put it that way." He walked out of the observatory leaving Red to figure out what he meant.

Nightshade leaned against the railing outside, the sun had long since set and the moon shone brightly in the sky and millions of tiny stars lit the heavens. The night was cool but not unpleasantly so and Nightshade felt the wind blow through his long hair. Nightshade could hear millions of voice all around him, he closed his eyes so that he could hear them clearly, but they were speaking in a language that he couldn't understand.

"What?" He asked the voices, "I don't understand, what are you saying?" The voices continued to speak in their hushed tones and Nightshade held the sides of his heads, "stop it, one at time."

"Is everything alright?"

The voices in Nightshade's head stopped as suddenly as they appeared, Nightshade turned round to see Red looking at him. "Oh," Nightshade sighed with relief, "it's you."

"What happened?"

"I was just…I could hear voices."

Red stared at Nightshade for a moment. "What kind of voices?" He asked.

"I don't know," Nightshade answered, "they were all talking at once and I couldn't make out what they were saying."

"You're hearing the planet," Red told him.

"What?" Nightshade asked looking confused.

"The Ancients could hear the planet, it's strange that someone who isn't from this world can hear the planet."

"I think those voices were the spirits of all those who had died," Nightshade told Red.

"You can hear dead people?" Red asked, he wasn't afraid, rather he was curious.

Nightshade nodded, "yeah, all Kitsunes can hear the voices of dead people, I've just never heard that many before."

"I see, about what you said before, about me not missing much, what did you mean?" Red asked he quickly changed the subject.

"Love is overrated," Nightshade answered he started looking out towards the canyon again.

Red sat down beside him and he looked up at the Kitsune, "how so?" He questioned.

Nightshade sighed, "love isn't all its cracked up to be," Nightshade explained with a hint of sadness in his voice. "You give your heart to someone you really care about. You even get married and start a family, for it all to be snatched away from you, just like that."

"That's what happened to you right?"

Nightshade nodded, "yeah, but I don't want to talk about it."

"And you never thought of remarrying?"

"Aurora was the only woman I ever loved, I can never love again. Like I said, love is overrated. Listen Red," Nightshade quickly changed the subject. "I'm gonna go for a walk, and clear my head."

"Do you mind if I come with you?" Red asked.

"I'd much rather be alone," Nightshade told Red.

"Oh ok," Red sounded disappointed but he still smiled at Nightshade, "I have to do my rounds anyway, makes sure everyone's ok, shall I meet you up here again later."

"Sure."

"See you later, Nightshade."

"Yeah, see you later, Red."

Red and Nightshade climbed down the ladder into the canyon and they went their separate ways. Red ran off in one direction to keep any eye out for any potential dangers and Nightshade began exploring the town. He was amazed at how people could actually live on a canyon. Nevertheless once they had gotten over the shock of the fact that Nightshade was not of their world they were very friendly towards him and Nightshade couldn't help but smile. He made his way down to the Cosmo candle, a huge flame in the middle of the canyon that never seemed to die out. Nightshade had heard of everlasting fire and he wonder what kind of enchantment was used on it. He sat down by the fire and he stared into it and he reflected about everything that had happened in his life.

"_Aurora," _Nightshade said sadly in his head, _"I'm sorry, I failed you, and I failed Max. No," _Nightshade stood up and he continued to stare into the fire. _"I already failed Max once, I'm not gonna fail him again. I will find him." _

Nightshade looked up at the sky and he saw that it was getting late, he walked away from the fire and he made his way back up to the observatory to meet Red.

* * *

Meanwhile in Rocket Town Angel woke up the following morning, her eyes were still red due to her crying the night before. She got out of bed and walked up to the mirror to find that her hair was a mess, she straightened it out as best she could without a hair brush and she tied it back into a ponytail. When she was satisfied with her appearance she left the room and walked downstairs to the kitchen where Shera was cooking breakfast for them all. Cid was sat at the table reading the morning newspaper, Shera smiled at Angel as she entered the room.

"Morning Angel," she said cheerfully, "did you sleep well?"

Angel smiled back and nodded, "oh yes, thank you."

"I hope you're hungry," Shera added as she carried three plates of bacon, fried egg, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans and fried bread to the table.

"This looks delicious, thank you," Angel replied gratefully.

"Your welcome," Shera responded as she sat down in between Cid and Angel and everyone starting eating their breakfast.

"Hey, this is the best cooked breakfast I've ever had, Shera," Cid said between bites, which greatly annoyed Angel but she kept quiet about it.

"Why thank you Cid," Shera replied gratefully as she smiled at him.

Ten minutes later the phone rang just as they had finished eating their breakfast. "Who the hell would be ringing at this time!" Cid cursed loudly. "Can't I have some damn peace here for once!"

"Cid!" Angel admonished glaring at Cid, "What have I told you about your language?"

Cid snickered as he lit up a cigarette, "well you see," he explained mockingly, "there's what you told me and there's what I actually took into account."

Angel continued to glare at Cid and the phone carried on ringing, Angel knew that Cid was in no hurry to answer the phone and she gave an exasperated sigh. "I'll get the phone!" She snapped, she grabbed Cid's PHS from the table, she noticed the word BITCH in capital letters flashing on the phone before she answered it. "Hello, this is the Highwind residence, how may I help you?"

"Hello…" a young woman answered on the other side of the phone, she sounded nervous, "errm…is Cid there?"

"Yes," Angel replied, "I'll just get him, Cid," Angel called to him, "there's someone on the phone that wants to talk to you."

"Was there a phone name?" Cid asked Angel.

Angel gave Cid an evil stare, "it says the word…" Angel couldn't bring herself to say the word so she spelt it out instead, "B.I.T.C.H. on it."

"Oh great," Cid muttered sarcastically, "it's that brat of a ninja Yuffie."

"Just answer the phone," Angel pleaded, "she sounded really desperate."

Cid sighed and he snatched the phone off Angel, "what the hell do you want?" He shouted down the phone, "Bearing in mind that if it has anything to do with materia, I'm not interested!"

"Cid!" Yuffie yelled urgently down the phone, "I need your help, I'm…"

Yuffie was interrupted by another voice on the phone. "Five minutes remaining," a male voice told Yuffie but Cid could hear his voice down the phone.

"Alright!" Yuffie yelled at the man, "don't get your tail in a twist!"

The man on Yuffie's side of the phone just ignored her. "Four minutes and fifty seconds," he told Yuffie.

"Cid!" Yuffie pleaded, "I'm being held prisoner, you have to help me!"

Cid merely laughed at Yuffie, he never really took her seriously. "What did you do?" Cid asked jokingly, "Try to steal his freaking wallet!"

"Well…" Yuffie began to explain but she was interrupted again.

"Four minutes and thirty seconds."

"I'm getting there!" Yuffie yelled at her captor, "Just hang on!"

Her captor merely grinned and he continued his countdown. "Four minutes and twenty five seconds."

"I'm in a forest North of Wutai," Yuffie explained to Cid, "please Cid, help me out!"

"You tried to steal something from someone and he caught you, right?" Cid questioned suspiciously.

"Four minutes and ten seconds," the man said, "I caught her trying to steal more than that," the man told Cid.

"HEY!" Yuffie shouted at the top of her lungs. "IT'S MY PHONE CALL YOU STUPID GIANT TALKING BLUE FOX!"

Cid listened to Yuffie's loud description of her captor and he turned to Angel, "Hey Angel!" He called to her, "You might want to hear this." Cid pushed the loud speaker button so Angel could hear what was going on.

"Two minutes," Yuffie's captor retorted, "for the insult!"

Angel listened to the voice that sounded so familiar to her and then she realised who it was. "Lance?" Angel spoke into the phone.

"Angel?" Lance's voice could be heard on the loud speaker, "is that you?"

Angel nodded, "yes," she answered, "oh Lance, I'm so glad you're safe."

"Hey," Yuffie asked through the loud speaker, "isn't that the woman with the snooty accent who answered the phone?"

"Oh crap," Lance whispered under his breath, he knew what Angel was like if anyone ever insulted her.

"Snooty…accent…" Angel muttered angrily under her breath.

Cid started to panic, he seemed to realise that Angel didn't take too lightly to insults, especially if it was about her accent. "Damn," he said quietly to himself.

"She heard me, didn't she?" Yuffie asked sounding extremely nervous.

"You're on loud speaker," Lance told her.

"Crap," Yuffie cursed quietly, "sorry, I didn't mean it."

"The last person who insulted Angel ended up in hospital," Lance told Yuffie.

"For what a broken arm?" Yuffie joked.

"They were put in a critical condition."

"Oh…Cid!" Yuffie shouted desperately, "can you help me or not? I'm being held captive by a giant talking fox, there's something definitely wrong here!"

"You're talking to my wife on the other end of the phone," Lance said to Yuffie.

"She's a fox, right?" Yuffie asked Lance.

"She's a rabbit," Lance answered.

"You have a rabbit for a wife!" Yuffie exclaimed in shock. "What does she taste like?"

Lance grinned at Yuffie, "I think I'll go sharpen my spear," he said slyly, "I'm gonna have Wutinian meat tonight."

"Wait!" Yuffie cried out, "I'm sorry ok! I'm sorry I tried to steal your wallet, and I'm sorry for insulting you and your wife…just please let me go!"

"Throw her off the nearest cliff!" Cid suggested to Lance over the loud speaker.

"Come on Cid!" Yuffie tried to reason with the pilot. "Think of all the things I've done for you!"

"What things?" Cid asked quickly.

"Ok…" Yuffie tried a different tactic. "Then think of all the thinks I'm gonna do for you!"

Cid thought for a while then he shook his head, "nah, nothing comes to mind!"

"How about I clean up after myself whenever I throw up on the Sierra," Yuffie suggested trying to come to some sort of arrangement.

"I force you to do that anyway!" Cid was quick to remind her.

"Come on Cid, please!" Yuffie made one last ditch effort to appeal to Cid's kinder side. "I'll let you use the most powerful materia I have."

"You mean the materia I already own but you 'borrowed'!" Cid corrected her.

"Come on, it's a win-win situation."

"Yeah," Cid said wittily, "I lose a pest and Lance gets to vent out some of his frustration!"

"Hey look! I'm sure Lance would love to see his wife again."

Cid sighed, "I'll come to Wutai then," he said finally, "Lance have fun chucking Yuffie off that cliff!"

"Hey! Whatever happened to helping a friend in need?" Yuffie demanded.

"You're not a friend!" Cid shot back, "You're a pest!"

"Now I know you didn't mean that," Yuffie told Cid trying to get into his good books. "I can be useful at times."

"When?"

"Hey!" I could have easily run away anytime since I joined you guys!" Yuffie defended herself, "but did I? No, I went to the centre of the Earth with you guys, and I helped to defeat Sephiroth. I helped to evacuate Midgar when Meteor was about to destroy it, and I even returned to help defeat Bahamut Sin."

Cid laughed at this, "You almost got killed by Bahamut Sin, you had your ass handed to you by Sephiroth and you dropped eleven civilians when you were evacuating Midgar."

"So I can be a little clumsy!"

"A little clumsy! You pushed the DO NOT PRESS button on the Sierra!"

"I was curious!"

"It was the emergency engine shutdown button!"

"Then why didn't you tell me that before I pushed the button?"

"It had a sign over it saying DO NOT PRESS! In big red letters!"

"Oh ok," Yuffie sighed, "I get the point, fine, don't help me then, but it'll be on you conscience!"

Cid merely shrugged in response, "and…" he asked mockingly.

"You guys were always pushing me around!" Yuffie yelled tearfully, " you're just as bad as my father!"

"Your point being?"

"Cid," Angel cut in, "maybe you should help her."

"Angel!" Lance shouted down the phone, "don't tell me you're siding with her after what she said to you!"

"Well I'm just suggesting anything that will stop her from whining," Angel told Lance while she was holding her head, "she's giving me a splitting headache!"

"Throwing her off a cliff sounds like a good idea," Lance commented agreeing with Cid.

"I won't have you throwing her off a cliff!" Angel admonished Lance.

"Yes dear," Lance quietly obeyed Angel.

"Good," Angel said, satisfied, "now Cid and I will be along shortly, won't we Cid?"

"Well…" Cid began to make excuses, "there's some repair work that I need to overlook on the Sierra, and then there's some pilot training lessons I have to do." Angel glared at Cid, he sighed, "we can leave in ten minutes."

"Can't we leave sooner than that?" Angel asked him, "my husband is out there."

Cid shook his head, "nope."

"Why not?"

"We have to get the Sierra ready for take off," Cid answered.

"It takes that long for an airship to take off?"

"No, fuel and supplies take that long."

"Oh…we'll be there as soon as we can, ok Lance."

"Ok," Lance answered on the loud speaker, "see you soon Angel."

"See you soon Lance," Lance and Angel hung up on the phone and Cid picked the phone up and put it in his jacket pocket.

"So, are we ready?"

"Yes."

"Good, Shera, I'm just gonna prepare the Sierra then me and Angel are gonna go and pick up Lance and the brat, alright."

Shera nodded, "ok Cid," she walked up to Cid and kissed him. "Take care of yourself."

Cid laughed and he kissed her back, "don't worry Shera, I always take care of myself."

Shera released Cid and she hugged Angel, "it was nice meeting you Angel."

Angel hugged Shera back, "thanks for having me."

"You're welcome, well you better get going."

The two women broke apart and Angel followed Cid out of the house to the hangar where the Sierra was kept.

* * *

Back at Cosmo Canyon Nightshade had returned to the Observatory on top of the canyon. He sat down on the sofa and waited patiently for Red, he produced an energy ball and was tossing it into the air while he was waiting. Eventually the red beast returned and the energy ball disappeared.

"Where have you been?" Nightshade asked Red as he walked into the room.

"I've just been checking every where, to make sure nothing hostile will enter the canyon," Red answered as he sat down opposite Nightshade, "and it all seems fine to me. Did you enjoy your walk?"

Nightshade nodded, "yeah, I ended up at this flame that never seemed to go out."

"Aaahhh, the Cosmo Candle," Red replied.

"Yeah, how does that thing stay alight? Is it some kind of enchantment?"

"I think so," Red answered not really sure how the Cosmo Candle can stay alight. "I'm going to call a few people, see if they know the whereabouts of your friends."

"Ok, thanks."

Red walked over to the table to where the Phs was and he placed his front paws on to the table, and he realised that he couldn't dial the number. "Err…Nightshade," Red called out to him, "a little help please."

Nightshade smiled at this and he walked over to the table and he picked up the phone. "What number do you want me to dial?" He asked the beast, Red told Nightshade the number and he dialled it. When the phone was ringing Nightshade held the phone to Red's ear and they waited patiently for an answer.

* * *

Meanwhile in Rocket Town Cid was busy re-fuelling the Sierra and making sure all the supplies were ready. Angel watched him eagerly, she had been in an airship before, but not one like this. Cid had just finished all the checks on the Sierra when his PHS rang again.

"Bloody hell!" Cid cursed ignoring the evil stare Angel was giving him, "who's calling now! If it's Yuffie again I swear I'll…" Cid grabbed the PHS from his pocket he looked at the name and saw that it said the word RED on it. He pressed the loud speaker button, "hello?"

"Cid, it's Red," Red answered down the phone.

"What do ya want?" Cid demanded.

"We need a ride in the Sierra," Red replied.

"We, who's we?"

"I've found this strange creature at Cosmo Canyon, he calls himself a Kitsune, goes by the name of Nightshade."

Angel's ears pricked up when she heard the name Nightshade, "Nightshade!" She exclaimed.

"A friend of yours?" Cid asked staring at Angel.

"Who was that?" Red's voice could be heard on the loud speaker.

"This is Angel," Cid answered, "she seems to know your guy quite well."

"I see…"

"Is that Angel? I can hear on the other side of the phone." Nightshade's voice could be heard on the loud speaker.

"Yes," Angel answered, "a guy named Cid found me, he's a pilot. We got word that Lance is in a place called Wutai."

"Wutai?" Nightshade asked looking confused, "What's that?" He questioned Red.

"It's a town on an island opposite Rocket Town," Red explained, "Yuffie has probably found him."

"Yuffie's currently being held captive by this Lance guy," Cid told Red, "Yuffie called earlier, the pain in the ass said that she needed help."

"We're going to pick up her and Lance now," Angel added.

"Alright," Red stated to show that he understood, "go to Wutai and find Yuffie and this Lance, and then could you stop by at Cosmo Canyon to pick up me and Nightshade?"

"Jeez, do I have the word mug tattooed to my forehead?" Cid yelled down the loud speaker, "everyone wants me to pick them up all of a sudden! I'm not everyone's personal chauffeur!"

"Come on Cid, I wouldn't ask unless I really needed to," Red pleaded with his old friend.

Cid sighed, he knew Red was right. "Alright," Cid gave in, "I'm gonna go to Wutai, pick up Lance and the annoying pest, then I'll stop by Cosmo Canyon and pick you and this Nightshade up."

"Thank you Cid," Red replied gratefully, "You won't regret this."

"Yeah, yeah," Cid responded dismissively, "Cid out."

Cid and Red hung up on the phone and Angel turned to face Cid, "So we're going to pick up Lance and Yuffie first?"

Cid nodded, "Yeah, then we're gonna head to Cosmo Canyon."

"I'm so sorry about this Cid," Angel apologised.

Cid smiled at Angel, "Nah, don't worry about it, well we better get going."

Cid started the ignition on the Sierra and the airship began to take off and flew towards Wutai. Cid and Angel were unaware that someone was watching them, hidden in the shadows, bright yellow eyes flashed in the sunlight followed by evil laughter before the shadowy figure disappeared in a flash of purple light.

* * *

**Well that's chapter 8 done, sorry it's late but I've been very busy lately. Chapter 9 will be coming soon, please feel free to comment.**


	9. Journey on the Sierra

**Chapter 9: Journey on the Sierra**

It had been half an hour since the Sierra had left Rocket Town and was now on route to the Wutai area to pick up Lance and Yuffie. Cid was at the controls flying the Sierra and Angel couldn't help but impressed with Cid's outstanding flying skills. "Wow!" Angel exclaimed as she watched Cid, "when you told me that you were the best pilot on your world you weren't joking."

Cid merely laughed at this, "of course I wasn't joking," he replied smugly, "I'd never joke about my piloting skills, in fact they came in useful the passed few times we saved the world."

Angel thought about this then nodded, "I see…when we saved our world we just took it in turns to fly the airship."

"Your friend Max must have been very brave to let all of you fly the airship, I wouldn't let anyone else near the controls, not even if our lives depended on it."

"You love your airship, don't you?"

Cid nodded, "yeah," he answered, "it's my pride and joy, of course after the meteor incident the Highwind was forced into retirement…of course now we have this baby."

Angel said nothing more and she continued to watch Cid in silence, ten minutes later they were flying over Wutai. "Well," Cid told Angel, "we're approaching Wutai now, look out of the window."

Angel walked over to the window and looked out she could see a small oriental looking town below them. "Could Lance and Yuffie be there?" She asked staring intently at Cid.

"It's a possibility, unless Lance actually took my advice and threw her off the nearest cliff, he, he. It would have done us all a favour."

"Cid!" Angel yelled as she glared evilly at Cid.

"Will you relax!" Cid shot back, "sheesh, you're so uptight sometimes, anyway," he quickly changed the subject. "I'm setting her down here." Cid rather skilfully landed the Sierra outside of Wutai and he and Angel got out of the airship and entered the town.

Angel was intrigued by the town, it was a fairly small town set at the base of a mountain said to be the home of the Da Chow Gods that the people of Wutai worshipped. The townspeople in turn were staring at Angel, they were intrigued more than they were afraid of her, and Angel merely smiled politely back to them as she followed Cid round the town. _"I hope you're here Lance," _she said hopefully in her head.

* * *

Meanwhile Lance and Yuffie had just made it into Wutai. "Finally we've reached town, despite your directions!" Lance commented glaring at Yuffie as he said this.

"Hey! Yuffie argued back, "We got here didn't we?"

"Oh yeah," Lance muttered sarcastically, "A whole day late."

"Well, we're here, can you untie me now?!"

Lance sighed, "Fine," He walked behind Yuffie's back and untied her hands, Yuffie brought them round to the front of her body and she began rubbing them.

"That's better," she said with a huge sigh of relief.

"Whatever," Lance muttered and he started to walk off. Yuffie saw this and she ran after him.

"Hey!" She called after him, "Where are you going?"

Lance stopped in his tracks and he turned to face her. "You're home now aren't you?" He demanded not taking his eyes off her, he used his target sensor in his left eye to make sure Yuffie hadn't stolen anything from him, she was clean.

"I didn't take anything from you," Yuffie reassured him, "besides, you have nothing worth taking anyway."

"Just get out of here Yuffie," Lance told her as he turned round and started walking away, "find someone else to annoy."

Lance continued to walk off and Yuffie ran after him, "Wait!" She called out to him, Lance turned round again and saw Yuffie standing right in front of him.

"Now what do you want?"

"You don't know this town," Yuffie explained to him.

"And I suppose you do."

Yuffie nodded, "Considering I was born and raised in this town," she boasted, "I know it like the back of my hand, I can show you around, and I'll help you find your wife."

Lance glared at Yuffie sceptically, he had already tricked her once before, he wasn't going to fall for it again. "This had better not be another one of your tricks," he hissed threateningly, "because if it is…"

"It's no trick I swear," Yuffie cut in quickly, she knew how strong Lance was and what he was capable of.

"Ha," Lance scoffed, "thanks but no thanks." Lance continued to walk off and again Yuffie ran after him, she knew that he wouldn't stop again so she ran in front of him and blocked his path, Lance stopped in his tracks.

"Look," Yuffie spoke before Lance had a chance to say anything, "you're an alien on this world," she gestured to Lance's fox like appearance and his tail. "People are already staring at you." Lance looked all around him and he saw that Yuffie was right. "See, I'm right aren't I?"

Lance sighed, he knew that while he was here he was stuck with Yuffie, "alright, fine," he gave in, "show me around."

Yuffie smiled, "I knew you'd see things my way," before Lance could respond Yuffie grabbed his hand and dragged him off, "come on, there's loads for us to see before Cid and Angel arrive." Yuffie dragged Lance off in the direction of the Da Chow Mountain.

* * *

Back in town Angel had dragged Cid to practically every clothes shop in the shopping district and she tried on practically every item of clothing in the shop, and she bought the ones that she liked. Of course Cid had to pay for them as Angel didn't have any Gil on her. An hour or so later Cid was carrying five bags of Angel's shopping.

"Shit…" Cid cursed under his breath, "Why do women need so many clothes?"

Angel smiled at Cid, "surely you don't expect me to wear the same clothes everyday?" She enquired.

"Why not?" Cid replied in answer to Angel's question.

"Because it's not very hygienic," Angel answered as they continued walking down the street.

"Now I know how Lance feels," Cid muttered under his breath, he felt like his back was about to give in under the weight of all the shopping bags.

"You know this would have been so much easier if Max or Nightshade were here," Angel commented in passing.

"How so?" Cid asked trying to remain calm.

"Well, they have their own dimension," Angel informed Cid, "if they were here we could have asked one of them to put the clothes into their dimension until I needed them."

"For now, why don't we just take them back to the Sierra and then head back into town to search for Lance," Cid suggested to Angel.

"You forgot about Yuffie," Angel reminded him.

"Oh yeah, the brat."

"You really shouldn't call people names," Angel admonished.

"Let's just get back to the airship," Cid said not listening to her, "my back's killing me."

Cid and Angel walked out of Wutai and back to the Sierra, Angel placed her shopping into one of the bedrooms. Ten minutes later they were back in the town and Cid was relieved to not be weighed down with shopping. "Where to now?" He asked staring intently at Angel.

Angel looked up at the mountain behind the town and was intrigued by all the statues and carvings on it. "Why don't we go to that mountain," she suggested as she pointed to it.

Cid sighed, "you want to go to the Da Chow Mountain?" he asked her wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to go there.

Angel nodded, "yes I do," she answered, "there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Cid shook his head, "well personally I thing it's a boring place," he told Angel, "but if you want to go there, then that's fine with me."

Angel smiled, "thank you Cid." Cid merely waved off her thank you and they both followed the trail to the mountain.

* * *

It was approaching sundown in Wutai and Lance and Yuffie were at the very top of the Da Chow Mountain. Yuffie was sat right at the edge of the cliff, Lance was stood further back leaning against the wall, he had placed his blood covered spear on to the ground next to him. It had taken them an hour to climb up the mountain and they had met a few foes on the mountain path. Fortunately Lance and Yuffie were able to make short work of them, and Lance had to admit that Yuffie was a skilled fighter, in her own way.

"Isn't it amazing?" Yuffie asked Lance.

"Yeah," Lance said, he had to admit that this was a good idea.

"Hey!" Yuffie exclaimed as she looked down, "you can see the entire town from here." Lance walked up to the edge, he looked down and he was amazed at what he saw. He could see the entire town spread out below the mountain, the river that flowed through the town shimmered in the evening sun and the town was filled with bright lights.

Lance smiled at Yuffie, "I must admit that this was the first good idea you've had."

Yuffie grinned back at Lance, "you see, when will people learn that most of my ideas are good ones?"

Lance merely laughed at this, "that's funny," he commented, "because I thought that you getting into a confrontation with me, trying to steal my wallet and insulting my wife on the loud speaker were bad ideas."

"Ha, ha!" Yuffie laughed sarcastically, "you got to admit though, we make a good team."

"Yeah," Lance agreed, "you're a good fighter," then he added quietly, "in your own way."

Yuffie glared at Lance, "What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded.

"Nothing," Lance answered, he walked back to the wall and he picked up his spear. "I'm gonna clean my spear," Lance told Yuffie, she merely waved in response and she continued to look down at the town below. Lance sighed and he sat down, he took a cloth out of his pocket and he began to wipe the surface of his spear. Lance always used to clean his spear after a battle, whenever he had the opportunity. He took his time with it cleaning the spear inch by inch not missing a single spot, in fact he was so immersed in cleaning his spear that he didn't even notice Angel running up to him.

"Lance!" Angel yelled as she ran up to him, Lance looked up and his spear dropped to the ground with a clang, he leapt to his feet and he ran towards Angel with his arms outstretched. A few seconds later Angel had jumped into Lance's arms and the two were locked in a tight embrace.

"Angel," Lance whispered her name, he was glad that she was safe and he cried happy tears and laughed, Angel laughed along with him and she hugged him tightly not daring to let go for fear that she would lose him again if she did. They were so wrapped up in their own little world that they didn't even notice Cid huffing and puffing behind them.

"Ahem…" Cid coughed bringing Angel and Lance back to reality. "If you're quite finished!"

Angel and Lance broke apart quickly, "Sorry Cid," Angel apologised, she saw the confused look on both Lance and Cid's faces. "Oh, I almost forgot, Lance this is Cid," Angel pointed at Cid, "he found me and he gave me a lift on his airship."

Is that so?" Lance asked he held out his hand for Cid to shake. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

Cid shook Lance's hand, "It's no problem, you must be Lance, we spoke on the phone," Cid told Lance, he looked over Lance's shoulder and saw Yuffie who was now standing behind Lance. "I see the annoying pest is still with you."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled glaring at Cid, "Who are you calling an annoying pest?"

"You," Cid shot back, he then whispered in Lance's ear so that Yuffie couldn't hear him. "I can't help but admire you, I'd have pushed Yuffie off a cliff ages ago if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with her."

Angel looked in Yuffie's direction as soon as she heard the name Yuffie, her eyes grew wide with anger and were filled with fire. "I remember you," Angel said surprisingly calm, Lance slowly backed away from Angel. "You're the one who said that I have a snooty accent."

"Eh he," Yuffie laughed nervously as she began to back away, "yeah…about that…I was just…"

Angel withdrew her blades and stared evilly at Yuffie, "I'll make you pay for what you said!" Angel yelled as she charged towards Yuffie.

"Yikes!" Yuffie screamed and she ran as fast as she could with Angel in hot pursuit. Cid and Lance were stood there watching them.

"Run Yuffie, run!" Cid yelled jokingly as Yuffie ran even faster.

"Get back here!" Angel yelled swinging her blades around and just narrowly missing Yuffie, "you're just making it worse for yourself!"

"Do you think we should help her?" Lance asked Cid.

Cid shook his head, "nah, leave them too it, Yuffie's had it coming for a long time. Like I said, I have to admire you for putting up with Yuffie, if it were me I'd have cracked along time ago."

"I have more self control than that," Lance whispered back to Cid.

"I see…" Cid replied, "Well we better get going, another friend of yours has been found."

"Really who?" Looks at Angel who was still chasing Yuffie. "Angel, stop it now, you're scaring me."

Angel stopped chasing Yuffie, "I'll deal with you later!" She shouted at Yuffie and she sheathed her blades, she returned to Lance's side again, Yuffie finally stopped running as she gasped for air.

"Yeah," Cid continued, "a friend of mine found him, I believe he said his name was Nightshade."

Lance stared at Cid, "Nightshade's been found?" he asked.

Cid nodded, "yeah, he's at Cosmo Canyon. Come on everyone, chop chop. I haven't got all frigging day!" Cid yelled impatiently and he began to walk down the mountain path, Angel, Lance and Yuffie followed him. Half an hour later and they were on the Sierra, on their way to Cosmo Canyon.

* * *

At Cosmo Canyon Nightshade was in the library reading books on the history of Cosmo Canyon. Nightshade had finished reading his fifth book when Red walked in.

Cid should be along shortly," Red informed Nightshade, he then noticed the book in Nightshade's hand. "What's that you're reading?"

"I'm reading up on the history of Cosmo Canyon," Nightshade answered as he placed the book back on the shelf. "It seems that this tribe called the GI attacked the Canyon over forty odd years ago."

"Oh yes, I remember that," Red told Nightshade a hint of sadness in his voice.

"You remember that?" Nightshade stared at Red in shock, "How old are you?"

"I'm 52 years old," Red answered, "my race had great longitivity," Red continued, "my 52 years is the equivalent of a 20 year old human."

Nightshade thought about this, "I see."

"I was only a cub when the GI attacked Cosmo Canyon, my mother and father fought them, but my mother was killed and my father fled. For years I thought that he was a coward, then my grandfather showed me this secret cave where my father fought the GI alone even after their poison darts turned him into stone."

"That's too bad," Nightshade said staring sympathetically at the beast, "I lost my parents too."

"What happened to them?" Red asked curiously.

Nightshade sighed, "my mother was killed by Balthazar, my older brother," he answered his voice was filled with hatred for his brother, "my father died two months after I was banished, he lost the will to live. I was told that he died a broken man."

"I'm sorry Nightshade," Red rested his head on Nightshade's leg and looked up at him sympathetically.

"That's ok," Nightshade smiled at Red to reassure him, "that's all in the past now, Balthazar's dead and he won't be coming back."

"Hmmm…" Red said thoughtfully, he wanted to say that the villains don't always stay dead but he kept his mouth shut.

"Anyway," Nightshade quickly changed the subject, "Cid and the others will probably be here by now, we should head back to the…"

"There's no need since we're already here," A gruff voice interrupted him, Nightshade and Red turned round to see Cid, Yuffie, Lance and Angel stood there. "So how long were you planning on keeping us waiting?" Cid demanded staring at Red.

Red walked up to his old friend, "Sorry Cid," he apologised.

Cid waved Red's apology aside, "that's ok you daft son of bitch," Cid joked.

"We went up to the observatory," Yuffie explained, "but an elder told us that you were both in the library."

"And you are?" Nightshade asked staring intently at Cid and Yuffie.

"I'm Cid," Cid introduced himself, "the best damned pilot in the world, and this is Yuffie," he pointed at Yuffie, "pain in the ass extraordinaire."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled glaring at Cid, "I resent that!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cid replied dismissively, "Anyway I believe Lance and Angel are friends of yours."

Nightshade saw Lance and Angel together holding hands and he merely smiled impassively at them, "yeah, I know them," was all Nightshade said.

Cid walked over to a chair and he sat down and lent back on the chair placing his feet on the table. "Finally, I can relax for a while…whoa!" Cid almost fell backwards on the chair when he heard the PHS ring. "What is it now?!" He yelled as he grabbed the phone from his pocket. The name said SPIKY ASS on it. "It's Cloud," Cid told everyone as he answered the phone, "what is it Cloud?!" He yelled down the phone.

"Cid," Cloud answered on the other side of the phone, "Me and Tifa are in Coral with Barret, we met some strange creatures on the way."

"No kidding," Cid muttered sarcastically, earning him dirty looks from the others.

"Don't tell me you found more of them," Cloud sighed.

"Fraid so," Cid told him, Yuffie and Red are with me too, we're at Cosmo Canyon now, we've found others called Lance, Angel and Nightshade."

"Did someone say they found Lance, Angel and Nightshade," A female voice could be heard on Cloud's side of the phone.

"Who was that?" Cid asked Cloud.

"That would be Sunny," Cloud answered, "we also found someone called Drogo and Max, a girl called Pandora was found in Kalm, she's currently in the WRO HQ…"

"Let me guess you want me to take you there, right?" Cid asked knowing full well what the answer was.

"If you'd be so kind," Cloud pleaded with his old friend.

"WHAT IS EVERYONE'S FREAKING PROBLEM!?" Cid bellowed down the phone causing everyone in the vicinity to cover their ears. "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME TO GIVE THEM A LIFT TO SOMEWHERE, I'M NOT A DAMN TAXI DRIVER!"

"Please Cid," Cloud pleaded again having just recovered from being almost deafened by Cid's yelling. "It would mean a lot to us if you could."

Cid sighed, "Fine, we'll be there in half an hour."

"Thanks Cid."

"Yeah, yeah, Cid out." Cid and Cloud hang up.

"I guess this means we'll be going to Coral?" Red asked Cid.

Cid nodded, "yeah, we have to pick Cloud and the others up, then we'll be heading for Kalm."

"Oh no," Yuffie moaned, "Not another flight, I was just getting over the last one."

"And you threw up over my damn floor, I had the thing waxed yesterday!" Cid yelled glaring at Yuffie, "And you'll be cleaning it up!"

Yuffie sighed, "I know, I know, let's just get going."

Everyone left the library and made their way to the Sierra.

* * *

Meanwhile in Barret's house Max had just walked down the stairs as Cloud hung up on the phone. Max had managed to catch up on the sleep he had missed the night before and he didn't look as tired or cranky.

"Were you talking to Cid?" Max asked as he entered the living room where everyone else was.

Cloud nodded, "yeah, he should be here in half an hour. He found more of your friends."

Max's face lit up, "who?"

Sunny smiled at him, "he found Angel, Lance and Nightshade," she told him.

"Lance, Angel and Nightshade have been found?"

Drogo nodded, "yeah, oh joy I get to have another 'friendly' conversation with Lance," Drogo muttered sarcastically, Sunny glared at Drogo and was about to respond when Tifa cut in.

"Come on Drogo, I'm sure you'll be glad to see Lance again."

"Yeah, about as much as I like having a fireball shoved up my ass!"

"How are you guys getting on with vehicles?" Barret asked Max and Drogo.

"Everything works perfectly," Max answered grinning broadly, "I managed to fix your truck last night before I fixed the bike."

"Thanks Max," Barret said gratefully, grinning at the Kitsune.

"Anytime."

Half an hour had past and there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Tifa said as she walked to the front door seeing a very disgruntled looking Cid.

"Where is he?!" Cid yelled at Tifa as he barged into the house, Red, Angel, Lance and Nightshade followed him inside. Cid saw Cloud and ran up to him ready to give him a piece of his mind.

"I only managed to get a chance to sit down after flying the damn Sierra all day! I'm not a taxi!"

Barret merely chuckled at this, Red ran into the room and lay down on the rug next to the fireplace watching the scene with a complacent smile on his face. Angel, Lance and Nightshade entered the room and stared at Max, Drogo and Sunny. There was an awkward silence followed by hugging and everyone talking at once, they were all happy to see each other again. Cid eventually whistled and everyone stopped talking and stared at him.

"As much as I like to watch this happy reunion," Cid reminded them, "but we're running on a tight ship here, so lets get going, the sooner we get to Kalm, the sooner I can go home."

Cloud nodded, "yeah, we better get going." Cloud walked out of the house and everyone followed him, five minutes later and everyone was on the Sierra again. Max couldn't help but stare in awe at it.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, "this reminds me of the airship we were travelling on back home only this one is more advanced."

Cid grinned smugly, "yeah, she's something isn't she," he walked over to the controls, "ok this is your ruddy captain speaking so listen up!" Cid barked in his usually manner, "it'll take us an hour to get to Kalm so hold on tight! Oh and Yuffie, if you throw up you're cleaning it up!"

Cid pulled backwards on the levers as the Sierra took off and headed in the direction of Kalm, loud retching could be heard on board.

"Oh Yuffie!" Cid yelled at the ninja.

"Sorry…Cid," Yuffie apologised, she sounded ill, "you know I'm not a good flyer…"

"You know where the mop and bucket is, so clean it up!"

Yuffie moaned as she got the mop and bucket and she began to clean all her sick up. Max meanwhile was stood outside on the deck concentrating hard. _"Don't worry Pandora," _Max spoke in his head, _"we're on our way."_

"_See you soon," _Pandora's voice echoed in Max's head.

* * *

**Chapter 9 is finally complete, sorry it took so long, I was suffering from writers block plus I was busy with other things. Chapter 10 is coming soon, feel free to put any constructive comments on there. Don't just say that it's crap and then not give a reason why, I can't improve if you don't tell me. Enjoy.**


	10. Battle at Kalm

**Chapter 10: Battle at Kalm**

It was early evening in Kalm and the sun was just setting, most of the local shops and stores were preparing to close for the night, however all the bars and restaurants were still open. The new Wutinian restaurant that Reno and Rude were talking about was very popular with the locals, so much so that by the time Reno, Rude and Pandora arrived there were no seats left inside. However they didn't mind eating outside as the evening was cool and quite pleasant, it was over an hour since they arrived and they were no tucking into their food. Reno and Rude were telling Pandora everything that happened.

"…and then," Reno was just finishing his story as he dipped his chopsticks into his noodles. "Cloud rode passed us on his bike and we blew up Yazoo and Loz."

Pandora was intrigued by their tale and she hung on to their every word. "Then what happened?" She asked curiously as she finished eating.

Reno shrugged in response, "We don't know what happened to Cloud after that," Reno answered vaguely, "something about Sephiroth coming back from the dead, and Cloud kicking his ass. We had to get back to our boss and he was cured of Geostigma."

Pandora thought about this, she had read books on Geostigma in the WRO HQ. "That's when Jenova infects someone isn't it?"

Reno nodded, "yeah."

"It's what happened after meteor fall," Rude explained, "Jenova cells managed to get into most of the planet's population."

"Including Cloud?"

Reno shook his head, "No," he replied, "he had Jenova cells in him long before that."

Pandora stared at the two Turks, "how's that possible?"

Reno and Rude looked at one another wondering whether they should tell her everything or nothing. "Hojo's experiments," Rude stated as vaguely as possible. "It's a part of Shinra's past."

"Hojo?" Pandora found herself wanting to know more. "Who's that?"

"Sephiroth's biological father," Reno answered as he had finished the last of his noodles.

"He conducted experiments on any form of specimen," Rude added, "Even his own son."

Pandora gasped, "That's terrible!" She exclaimed not taking her eyes off Reno and Rude. "Who else did he experiment on?"

"Let's see," Reno began counting Hojo's experiments on his fingers. "Cloud, Zack, Red, practically all of SOLDIER, Deep Ground, and anyone off the streets."

"_Zack," _Pandora thought to herself, _"surely not, surely not the guy I can hear in my head."_

"_You just earned yourself a medal," Zack_ said sarcastically in Pandora's head.

"_Zack?"_

"_I'm going."_

"_No wait!" _Pandora called after him, _"Come back!"_

Zack sighed, _"fine, I'll wait till you've finished talking to Reno and Rude."_

"_Fine," _Pandora agreed, _"but there's a few questions I want to ask you."_

"_Ok, ok" _Zack stayed in Pandora's head but he remained silent.

"Even the Turks had experiments done," Reno continued to explain.

"Hojo sounds like a sick and twisted man," Pandora said in disgust, "like someone else I once knew."

"Scientists with no morals tend to be," Rude responded, "it's funny that Vincent was the product of an experiment that saved his life, and he used it to kill Hojo."

"Well surely he must've known that one of his experiments would rebel against him," Pandora cut in.

"Here's the thing," Reno told her, "it was only part of his experiment."

"What do you mean?"

"Vincent was mainly Lucrecia's experiment," Rude added, "she saved his life, Hojo just added the finishing touches after Lucrecia went missing after Hojo took her son away from her."

"That would be Sephiroth, right?"

Reno nodded, "bingo!" He exclaimed and he gave her a thumbs up sign to show that she was right.

"How long ago was this?" Pandora questioned.

"Hmmm," Rude thought about it for a while, "I've lost count, it was when Sephiroth had just been born."

"And this Vincent guy was there?"

"Hojo shot Vincent when he was a Turk," Reno informed her, "he was the first one of us to die."

"Die?"

"Well he was on the brink of death," Reno continued, "the old Vincent died along time ago, before I joined the Turks."

"So how old would he be?"

"His body stopped aging," Rude answered Pandora's question, "but he would be 61."

Pandora's eyes grew wide with shock, "61?"

"He stopped aging," Reno replied grinning at the look on Pandora's face, "he looks like he's in his mid 20s, and he's such a miserable git that you'd be bored."

Pandora snickered at this, "sounds like someone else I know."

"There used to be a lot of us," Reno continued with his explanation as he leaned back on his chair and placed his hands round the back of his head. "Now there's just me, Rude, Tseng and Elena."

"What happened to the rest of you?" Pandora asked.

"My guess," Reno answered taking his time with his reply, "it was either Hojo or Deepground."

Pandora thought about this, "Hmmm…"

"I still don't know which is worse," Rude added looking as taciturn as ever, "Meteor, Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, or Deepground."

"They all sound equally bad," Pandora cut in.

"Then there was Zack's death," Reno said he cringed as he divulged that information. "And that was not pretty."

Pandora managed to hide the shock in her face, she couldn't believe that the man who was talking to her in her head had died a brutal death. She had the sudden urge to find out more about her new friend's death.

"How did he die?" Pandora questioned inquisitively.

"The old boss of Shinra, Rufus' father wanted to keep Zack under raps," Reno replied. "As long as he kept his mouth shut we would've had no need to kill him."

"Of course," Rude cut in, "some low class sergeant wanted the glory of taking Zack out and they shot him in the head."

Pandora nodded trying to take it in. _"You didn't tell me you were shot!" _Pandora questioned Zack in her head.

"_It was on a need to know basis," _Zack was quick to defend himself, _"and Reno and Rude are still talking to you."_

"What did he have to stay quiet about?" Pandora continued to ask the Turks questions.

"Hojo's experiments and Nibelheim," Reno answered her.

"What happened to Nibelheim?" Pandora remembered Max telling her that he was found in a town called Nibelheim and she was wondering whether Reno was talking about the same town.

"Sephiroth went insane after reading about his fake origins," Rude responded, "and he burned the town to the ground, Zack and Cloud confronted him, Sephiroth disappeared and Zack and Cloud were mortally wounded."

"And Zack and Cloud were captured right?"

Rude nodded "Correct."

"What did Hojo do to them?"

"The Sephiroth Clone Project," Reno said he stopped tilting his chair and he sat up straight to look at Pandora.

Pandora almost cried out in shock, "he was going to make clones out of them!"

"He was turning them in to mindless super soldiers that Sephiroth could control," Reno corrected her.

"Did it work?"

"Cloud and Zack escaped and reached the outskirts of Midgar five years later," Rude informed her.

"Were they ok?"

"Well Zack was his usual talkative self, and Cloud was just a mindless puppet on Zack's back," Reno said with an inane grin on his face.

"He was experimented on for five years and he was still his normal self!" Pandora exclaimed hardly daring to believe it.

Rude merely shrugged in response, "Zack was already a super soldier so it must've failed on him."

"I see," Pandora thought about this, "were you trying to kill him or capture him alive?"

"Capture," Reno answered, "unless he proved uncatchable."

"I guess that's a situation where if you didn't kill him he would've killed you, right?" Pandora asked, both Turks nodded, "I guess I can relate to you guys in a way," Pandora continued, "but I don't think he would've killed you guys."

"He broke an army of soldier's necks, in a single hit!" Reno told her as he reminded himself of Zack's strength.

"He was that strong?"

"With no sword," Reno continued.

"He fought with no sword!"

"He was protecting Cloud," Reno explained.

"By putting the sword in front of him."

Reno nodded, "yeah, and now said sword is on a hill overlooking Midgar collecting dust."

Pandora gave Reno a confused look, "why is it on a hill?"

"It's like an unmarked grave," Reno said not taking his eyes off Pandora.

"Was that where Zack was killed."

"Yeah."

"Who put it there?"

"Cloud," Rude answered.

"As a mark of respect?"

Reno shook his head, "At first no, Cloud just took the sword and left, thanks to Hojo's experiment Cloud's mind was wide open. Zack told Cloud about some of his adventures on the road and then he began to think that he was Zack."

"In a sense," Rude added, "he thought that he was the first class SOLDIER that Zack was."

Pandora gave Reno and Rude another confused stare, "that's a bit screwed up isn't it?" She asked them.

"Much like this Max of yours when he lost his memory," Reno reasoned with Pandora.

Pandora nodded, "yeah, but he didn't go around claiming that he was something he wasn't."

Reno gave Pandora a sceptical stare, "he thought he was MB the genetic error on the planet when really he was a prince. In short that's what you told us."

Pandora thought about this and she knew that Reno was right, "yeah, it was hard explaining to him who he really was."

"In a way he was like Cloud," Reno told her, "Cloud didn't know who he was either."

"So how did Cloud get his memories back?"

Rude shrugged, "we don't know, Cloud never told us how?"

"And what about Zack's parents?" Pandora continued to ask as she lusted for more information. "Did they know about his death?"

Reno and Rude looked at each other awkwardly, "we failed to mention it to them," Reno finally answered.

"You mean they don't know!"

Rude shook his head, "no."

"Shouldn't someone tell them?"

"They think that Zack was a bad son for not speaking to them for lets see now, about 12 years." Reno explained the situation to Pandora.

"But he had a good reason for not telling them," Pandora was quick to defend Zack.

Rude nodded, "yeah."

Pandora sat back in her chair and looked up, "Max and the others should be here soon," she stated, she knew that she had over stepped the mark a little and she decided to change the subject.

"Yeah, you're right," Reno agreed with her, he looked up as he heard a voice that was all too familiar to him.

"He he, lets play!"

Reno and Rude stood up suddenly, Reno withdrew his rod and Rude got into a fighting stance with his hands balled into fists. "Pandora, stay here," Rude told her.

Pandora gave them a confused look, "why, what's going on?"

"Yazoo and Loz," Reno whispered to Pandora.

"I thought you told me they were dead," Pandora whispered back to Reno.

"They're supposed to be."

"So, why are they here?"

Reno shrugged, "I don't know, but stay here." Reno and Rude stepped away from the table as two silver haired men approached them.

"What are the peons to tired to have fun?" Yazoo asked the Turks in a mocking tone, Reno gave Yazoo an evil stare he hadn't forgotten the last time they fought.

"You grow some brain cells in the life stream," Reno joked.

"We don't need any to keep on par with you," Yazoo retorted.

"Yeah," Loz agreed, "where's brother? We've got some unfinished business to settle with him."

"He's out of town," Rude answered still in his usual calm manner as he stared at Loz.

"Yeah," Reno cut in still in a joking manner, "why don't you go back to the life stream and we'll tell him you called."

Yazoo and Loz merely laughed at this, "we wanted to play with brother," Yazoo said sarcastically, "he was so much fun."

"But for now," Loz added as he withdrew the Dual Hound and Yazoo withdrew the Velvet Nightmare. "We'll play with you guys!"

People started to run away as they recognised Yazoo and Loz, the only people in the streets were Yazoo, Loz, Reno, Rude and Pandora who had currently ran for cover. Reno and Rude charged at Yazoo and Loz and the battle commenced.

* * *

Meanwhile in a clock tower Vincent Valentine was sat at a small table examining the Cerberus handgun. "Hmmm," Vincent said to himself, "maybe if I upgrade the chamber it could fire faster." A flash of light blinded the room and Vincent leapt out of the way just in time as a giant humanoid Persian cat smashed on to the table and slid to the floor. If Vincent was in shock he didn't show it, he calmly loaded his gun and he pointed it at the foreign being. "One of Hojo's experiments," He whispered quietly to himself as he placed his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot.

The being heard the gun clicking and she flipped knocking Vincent off balance, she turned with two handguns, one in each hand and she pointed them at Vincent who at the same time had pointed Cerberus at her face. The cat woman grinned, "it seems that we're in a bit of a stalemate," she said abruptly.

Vincent didn't say a word but he thought quietly to himself. "Hmmm…" Was all he said in response.

"What's the matter big guy, cat's got your tongue?"

Vincent held the gun closer to the woman's face, "what are you?" He asked coldly as he gave her a sceptical stare.

"I could ask you the same question," she shot back just as coldly.

"You're not a monster," Vincent stated, "nor are you one of Hojo's experiments."

The woman looked confused but she kept her guard up nevertheless. "Who's Hojo?"

"Lower your weapons, and I'll tell you," Vincent said still maintaining his coolness.

The woman gave Vincent an evil glare, "And how do I know you won't kill me if I lower my weapons?" She demanded not taking her eyes off Vincent.

Vincent sighed, "you have my word."

The woman also sighed, "fine," she said as she lowered her hand guns and they de-materialised. Vincent flipped Cerberus into its holster. "So, are you going to tell me what you are?" She continued to ask.

"I could ask you the same thing," Vincent responded, "you don't look human."

"I'm a cybernetic Persian cat," the woman explained, "my serial number is 1372. but my friends call me Isis."

"I'm part human," Vincent answered, "my name is Vincent Valentine."

Isis gave Vincent a strange look, "part human?"

Vincent turned away from Isis, "I don't want to talk about it," he told her.

"Hmmm," Isis began to scan her surroundings, "what is this place?"

"We're currently in Kalm," Vincent replied, he turned to look at Isis, "where are you from?"

"I'm from a world called Terra Firma," Isis answered in her typical emotionless manner.

Vincent thought about Isis' answer, "hmmm," he said thoughtfully, "that would explain a lot."

"What is this world and what are the creatures that inhabit it?"

"This world is called Earth," Vincent explained, "the creatures here come in all shapes and sizes, but humans are the dominant species."

"I see…" Isis nodded to show that she understood though she was still sceptical. "You haven't seen any of the others have you? I haven't seen then since we were separated."

Vincent shook his head, "No,"

Isis merely shrugged in response, "I suppose they could be anywhere."

Vincent didn't speak for a while, he sat back down at the table, he laid Cerberus upon it and began to work on the gun. Isis walked up behind him to see what he was doing, Vincent had obviously sensed her presence as he eventually spoke. "Oh, just one thing," he told Isis, "people will stare at you a lot, cats don't usually walk on two legs, talk or be the size of a human."

"I get a lot of stares on my own world, I'm used to it."

Vincent grinned at Isis, "Good, then you'll know that a cat is smaller, walks on four legs and meows." A cat jumped on to the windowsill and walked up to Vincent, Vincent walked into the kitchen and got some milk from the fridge and he poured it into a saucer. He laid it on the floor, and the cat began to drink it, Vincent looked up to see Isis staring greedily at the milk.

"What?" Isis demanded staring evilly at Vincent, "I like milk."

"Hmmm…figures," He opened the fridge door again and got out a fresh carton of milk, he poured it into a glass and gave it to Isis.

"Thanks," Isis replied gratefully as she downed the milk in one. "So let me get this straight?" She asked as she placed the empty glass on the counter, "you mean to tell me that this is how cats on your world behave?" She pointed to the cat which was now happily drinking the milk that Vincent gave it.

Vincent nodded, "Yes," He replied as he walked back over to the table and he began working on the Cerberus. Isis was watching him again.

"What type of gun is that?" She asked him.

"A three barrelled handgun I built," Vincent answered, "I call it Cerberus."

Isis merely laughed, "Ha, you call that a gun!" She leapt back and spread her arms out, two tri-barrelled Gatling guns materialised in her hands. "These are guns!"

Vincent looked at the guns in Isis' hands, "I'm guessing you're a cyborg."

Isis nodded, "yes," came the reply, "I have a friend who is a cyborg."

"Well…" Vincent was about to say more but he was interrupted by screams outside, he fixed Cerberus and walked over to the window sill and leapt on to it. Isis walked over to the window and looked out, they both looked in the direction that people were running away from. "Those monsters are all too familiar."

Isis looked at the monsters through her targeting sensors. "Shadow Creepers," She informed Vincent.

Vincent jumped out of the window doing a back flip in mid air, he unloaded nine bullets into three of the Shadow Creepers that were in his landing spot. Isis jumped off the building and landed perfectly on her feet, she unloaded gatling gun bullets as she landed. "You've fought these things before, right?" She asked turning to Vincent as she said so.

Vincent nodded, "yeah," a behemoth charged towards Isis and Vincent pointing its horns directly at them. Isis leapt into the air and unloaded gatling gun bullets down the length of its back, finally landing a bullet squarely between its eyes, the monster screamed in pain as it collapsed to the floor dead. Isis landed gracefully on to the ground, Vincent stared at Isis obviously impressed. "Nice shot."

Isis grinned, "thanks," they heard the sound of a horn as a truck came speeding towards them. The driver was killed by one of the Shadow Creepers. Isis quickly de-materialised on of her gatling guns and she materialised a rocket launcher in its place, she quickly aimed and fired at the truck causing it to explode. The truck flew over Isis and Vincent's heads and skidded to a halt 20 meters away. Isis de-materialised the rocket launcher, "now what?" She asked Vincent.

"We find the source of the monsters," Vincent answered as he ran in the direction the monsters were coming from. Isis followed him and she re-materialised the second gatling gun.

* * *

Reno tried to kick Yazoo who easily dodged Reno's attack and he kicked him into a pole, Reno smashed into it back first and he cried out in pain as he slid to the floor. "Reno!" Pandora yelled she had a sudden urge to help the Turk but something told her to stay where she was.

"_Pandora, are you there?" _Zack's voice rang in Pandora's head.

"_Zack?"_

"_Good," _Zack sounded relieved, _"that's not the real Yazoo and Loz," _he informed her.

Pandora looked confused, _"What?"_

"_It's like their evil sides have come back," _Zack explained as best he could.

"_Evil sides?"_

"_I don't know how to explain it," _Zack continued, _"it's like only their evil sides have come to life, but not their good sides."_

"_How do you know this?" _Pandora asked Zack.

"_Because I'm right here," _A new voice that Pandora had never heard before spoke in her head. _"Yet I can feel an evil me walking the world."_

Zack sighed, annoyed that someone had cut in when he was explaining. _"Kadaj, I was just explaining…"_

"_You can talk to him?"_

"_Aerith," _Zack answered Pandora's question.

"_Aerith?"_

"_How do you think I'm able to talk to you?"_

"_You're linked to Aerith."_

"_Bingo," _Zack replied, _"and Aerith looks after misguided people like Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, and since their current spirits are here…"_

"_I see…" _Pandora thought about this, _"so you have the knowledge of the Ancients inside you right?"_

"_No,"_ came the reply, _"I'm just telling you what Aerith told me because it makes me feel smart."_

"_Hmmm…" _Pandora looked over at the battle scene as Loz picked up Rude and threw him towards Reno. _"What about Reno and Rude?" _Pandora asked the spirits, _"should I help them?"_

"_Let lose and have fun with it," _Kadaj advised her.

"_Ok, thanks guys." _Pandora ran towards the battle to help out her new friends. Rude landed on top of Reno, Reno tried to stand and he stood on Rude's sunglasses in the process, Rude stared wide eyed at Reno.

"Oh, he, he, sorry Rude," Reno apologised with a sheepish grin.

Rude merely grunted in reply as he took a spare pair of sunglasses from his pocket and he put them on. Loz and Yazoo grinned at them and they advanced towards their foes ready to give them another beating when they were hit by a fusion of fire and lighting. Loz and Yazoo were sent flying into a wall of a nearby house and went through it. However a moment later they emerged from the rubble and walked back towards Reno, Rude and now Pandora who had run back to check on Reno and Rude. Yazoo and Loz wore glowing bracelets on their wrists.

"_Zack, Aerith, Kadaj or any other spirit," _Pandora spoke in her head again to anyone who was listening. _"What do I do now?"_

"_Those things on their arms," _Zack answered, _"Are not from our world."_

"_Then what are they?" _Pandora asked.

A new voice that sounded familiar to Pandora spoke, _"They're Kitsune anti magic bracelets."_

"_Aurora? Is that you?"_

"_Yes," _Aurora answered.

"_How can you talk to me?" _Pandora asked her deceased mother in law.

"_Aurora is a Kitsune and she's dead," _Aerith cut in before Aurora could respond, _"that means she can freely roam planets and talk in people's heads."_

"_Hey!" _Zack argued with Aerith, _"I wanted to say that!"_

"_Really," _Aerith shot back, _"And did you know that, Zack?"_

Zack hesitated for a moment before answering, _"no…did your people become extinct because they knew too much?"_

"_No," _Aerith shot back, _"they became extinct because they sacrificed themselves to save the world from Jenova, need I remind you that some of her cells are inside you."_

"_Cetra are not evil!" _Zack retorted, _"Aerith the know it all is!"_

"_Guys!" _Pandora yelled, _"You're not helping!" _Pandora was so wrapped up in Zack and Aerith's argument that she didn't even notice Loz appear in front of her, he seemed to come from out of nowhere. Loz punched Pandora into a brick wall and she went through it and shot out of the other side landing back first on the ground. "Owwww…" Pandora moaned in pain as she slowly staggered to her feet, Yazoo and Loz were standing opposite her trying to resist the urge to laugh.

"What is she blind or something?" Loz asked mockingly.

"She can't play very well," Yazoo added in the same mocking tone.

"She probably can't even see us!" Loz laughed loudly, "talk about being as blind as a bat!"

Those words rang in Pandora's ears and she saw red. She glared evilly at Loz and Yazoo, a flaming aura was all around her as he whole body shook in anger. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Pandora bellowed at the top of her lungs. Reno and Rude stopped in their tracks as they heard Pandora shout.

"Hey!" Reno asked turning to Rude, "Is that fire emitting from Pandora?"

"_Oh boy…" _Zack whispered in Pandora's head, _"she's pissed."_

Pandora continued to glare at Yazoo and Loz, fire was in her eyes. "NOVA STORM!" Pandora yelled as she raised her arms into the air and she created a fused nova spell above her head, the fireball in her hands was so bright and enormous that it engulfed and illuminated the whole town.

* * *

"Hmmm…" Vincent said as he stopped running to take a glance at the giant fireball in front of him.

Isis ran up to Vincent's side and she too stared at giant fireball. "I'm guessing that's Pandora," Isis told Vincent.

"A friend of yours?" He asked turning to face Isis.

Isis nodded, "yes."

* * *

Loz and Yazoo stared at the fireball above Pandora's head, Loz merely laughed. "Heh…I see, we'll play ball then!"

Pandora launched the spell at Loz and Yazoo, Loz ran forwards and punched the fireball, the bracelet began to crack as he struggled against the force of the spell "Huh?" Loz looked down at his bracelet as it broke off and the explosion hit him. Loz was sent flying into a building and he kept going. He threw his gauntlet off as it exploded and he finally stopped when he went crashing into the clock tower.

Reno and Rude stared at Pandora their eyes were wide with shock. "Wow!" Rude stated open mouthed.

"NOW THAT'S FLASHY!" Reno exclaimed obviously impressed by Pandora's sudden surge of power.

Pandora however began to feel drained by the spell she had cast and she started to collapse to her knees. Yazoo grinned and seeing his opportunity he pointed his gun at Pandora as another man with a kitana walked up until he was next to Yazoo.

Pandora looked up at the man, her eyes were wide with shock. "…Kadaj…" She could barely utter his name.

"_I really didn't have that hair cut, did I?" _Kadaj's good half asked in Pandora's head.

"_What do I do now?" _Pandora asked desperately in her head, _"I'm too tired to cast another spell."_

Evil Kadaj and Yazoo grinned at Pandora, they knew that in her weakened state she wouldn't be able to fight back. They walked slowly towards Pandora, they both had their weapons pointed at her, Pandora could only watch as she saw the two men advance towards her. She closed her eyes tightly and she hoped against hope that something would happen that would save her from this fate.

"_Max, I hope you can hear me," _Pandora pleaded in her head, _"please help me."_

…To be continued.

* * *

**Well there you have it, chapter 10 is finally finished. Sorry to leave it at a cliff hanger but I didn't have enough space to include the whole battle scene into a single chapter. Will Max and the others get there in time to save Pandora from a grizzly fate? Find out in chapter 11 which will continue where this chapter left off. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy Vii or any of its characters, I do however own characters I have created myself.**


	11. Reunited

**Chapter 11: Reunited**

Evil Kadaj and Yazoo grinned at Pandora, they knew that in her weakened state she wouldn't be able to fight back. They walked slowly towards Pandora, they both had their weapons pointed at her, Pandora could only watch as she saw the two men advance towards her. She closed her eyes tightly and she hoped against hope that something would happen that would save her from this fate.

"_Max, I hope you can hear me," _Pandora pleaded in her head, _"please help me."_

A stream of gatling gun and handgun fire shot both of the men. Evil Kadaj jumped and sliced the barrels off both the guns while Yazoo took aim at Vincent.

Isis saw this and she turned to Vincent, "Vincent, look out!" She yelled.

Vincent jumped off the roof of the clock tower just as Loz burst his way through the roof he was stood on. He punched Vincent in the chest sending him flying to the ground. Isis dematerialised her damaged gatling guns and she grinned at Yazoo. "Fine," She said calmly, "hand to hand combat is more interesting anyway." Yazoo pointed his gun at Isis and fired, Isis easily dodged out of the way, she materialised a handgun and she pointed it at Yazoo's head. "Is that your best shot?" She asked in a bored tone. Yazoo merely grinned at her and he pointed his gun blade at Isis' face.

Vincent slowly got up and he looked up at the sky as he heard the sound of an engine, he grinned to himself. "Finally some back up," He stated calmly.

Isis and Yazoo stopped what they were doing and they both looked up to see what looked like an airship. "Is that an airship?" Isis asked half to herself.

Meanwhile on the Sierra everyone was looking down at the fight below in Kalm. Max was pacing round looking agitated. "I'm going down there," he said a hint of worry in his voice as he walked off the bridge.

Everyone stared at Max as he was almost out of the room, "hey!" Cid called out after him, "you do know…"

"I DON'T CARE!" Max yelled as he interrupted Cid, he then turned to Drogo. "Drogo," He said to his old friend, "I'm gonna need your help."

Drogo stared at Max in shock, "why?" He asked.

"Because there's a katana wielding maniac down there!" Max answered loudly, "I want to see who's more skilled."

Drogo grinned at this and he tapped the handles of his katanas, "Alright, show me who his and I'll be ready."

"I think that's him down there," Angel replied as she pointed down to Evil Kadaj who was busy fighting off Reno and Rude.

Drogo and Max both ran to the hangar and they jumped off the Sierra without parachutes. Sunny looked at Cid, "shouldn't we help them?" She asked.

Cid shook his head, "Nah," he answered grinning, "I think they can handle it, those are the kind of people I aspire to. They don't ask me to land," He glared at Barret and Yuffie as he said this.

"Hey err guys…" Yuffie spoke up and she sounded ill.

Cid glared at her, "No Yuffie!" He yelled at her, "don't you…" Cid was interrupted by the sound of Yuffie throwing up. "The mop is over there!" He shouted as he pointed to the nearby store cupboard.

"I know, I know!" Yuffie shouted back as she got the mop from the cupboard and started mopping the floor where she was sick. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

"Still," Angel said with a hint of concern in her voice, "we can't just sit here and do nothing." Everyone remained silent as they looked out to see what was going on.

Loz punched Pandora and then picked her up by the collar of her dress and was about to deliver a blow to Pandora's head with his Dual Hound. Pandora closed her eyes and waited for the blow. Max squinted as he got a closer look at Loz and he could barely make out a female figure being held by Loz. "Pandora!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs, but Pandora couldn't hear him.

Max closed his eyes as he went into a trance, he straightened his body out so that he fell faster. Drogo saw this and he yelled to Max trying to get his attention. "Max!" Max's eyes fluttered open to reveal blood red pupiless eyes. His fur changed from sea green to dark purple, his hair changed to jet black with blue streaks, white fangs curled out of his mouth and claws stuck out of his fingers. Pandora felt Loz let go of her as a strong force landed on top of him.

Meanwhile on board the Sierra, Avalanche stared in awe at what they had just seen. "Did you guys see that?" Tifa asked as she looked at the others to make sure she wasn't the only one who saw Max transform.

"Oh," Lance replied, seeing Max transform was perfectly normal to him. "It's nothing special."

Cloud stared at Lance, "What was what?"

Lance was about to answer but Nightshade got there first, "Max's Dark Form," he answered calmly as he walked over to Cloud, Tifa and Lance.

Tifa stared at the Kitsune, "Max has a Dark Form?" She asked.

Nightshade nodded, "Yeah," he answered, "just like me."

Red thought about it for a while then he remembered something, "hey!" He spoke up suddenly and everyone turned to stare at the beast, "that dark aura I sensed in you at Cosmo Canyon," he stated as he took a fleeting glance at Nightshade, "I sensed the same aura in Max."

Nightshade snickered at this, "It wouldn't surprise me," he said, "after all he is my son."

What triggers it?" Tifa questioned not taking her eyes off Nightshade.

Nightshade thought for a little while, "For both of us," Nightshade explained, "it's triggered by the will to protect someone close to us."

Cloud understood what Nightshade was saying, "Max wishes to protect Pandora," he stated knowingly.

Nightshade nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "just as much as I want to protect them both."

Tifa looked out of the window and she saw a shadowy figure standing on top of Loz. "Looks like Max landed on Loz," she commentated as everyone except Cid ran towards the window to take a look.

Max was on top of Loz with his clawed hand on Loz's face holding it down on the ground. Pandora was lay on the ground nearby too weak to move. Max turned to look at her. "Pandora?" He asked his voice was deeper and rougher than normal. "Are you ok?"

Pandora looked up at Max and smiled weakly at him, "yeah," she answered quietly, "I'll be ok."

Max nodded, "Good," He replied and he turned his attention back to Loz, he narrowed his red eyes angrily and he threw Loz up and kicked him back first into a wall.

Drogo flipped several times in the air to lower his falling speed, and he landed gracefully on the ground. He slowly removed his Katanas and he pointed them towards Kadaj. "The jackass with Katana is mine!" Drogo yelled.

"I've got Sir No Brain!" Max shouted not taking his eyes off Loz who had just picked himself up off the ground.

"I'll take on Yazoo," Vincent stated calmly as he changed into Chaos form.

Isis stared from one to the other and then at Pandora, "I'll get Pandora to a safe location," she said as she ran over to Pandora and helped her to her feet.

Max nodded at Isis, "Thanks Isis," he replied gratefully.

"Anytime," Isis responded as she helped Pandora get to safety.

Loz jumped out of the wall and tried to punch Max, but Max was too quick for him and he caught his fist and he began to crush it. "Aaaahhhhhh!" Loz cried out in pain.

"You know, the woman you beat up…" Max started, a hint of anger in his voice, Loz looked into Max's blood red eyes which were now glaring angrily at him. "WAS MY WIFE!" Max kicked Loz up into the air and followed him at break neck speed.

Drogo and Kadaj were already in an intense battle, they were trading blows with perfect precision. Isis took Pandora to where Reno and Rude were and she placed her down on the ground. Reno was staring at Max in awe, "did that guy just throw Loz like he was a fly?" He asked not taking his eyes off Max and Loz.

Isis grinned at Reno, "that's what happened when Max gets pissed off."

Rude stared at Drogo and Kadaj, Kadaj had caught one of Drogo's swords and flipped it out of his hand. Drogo quickly countered and kicked Kadaj buying him time to pick up his sword. Kadaj recovered and he lost sight of Drogo, Drogo jumped off the side of a building and lunged at Kadaj. In a flash of light Drogo was standing with his back turned to Kadaj, Kadaj tried to strike Drogo and with a grin Drogo sheathed both of his Katanas. The second the katanas clicked into place Kadaj exploded from the inside and all that was left on the floor were two halves of a bone. "Hmmm, impressive," Rude said to himself.

"_Wow!" _Zack exclaimed in Pandora's head, _"Did he just…how?"_

"_Oh...Zack…"_

"_Sorry," _Zack apologised, knowing how weak Pandora was and not wanting to put her through more mental strain by talking to him, Zack fell silent.

"Where's Max?" Pandora asked weakly barely able to stay focused.

The two Turks walked over to Pandora, "he's still fighting Loz," Rude told her.

"Oh," Pandora muttered before passing out.

"Pandora?!" Reno yelled concerned for his new friend.

"It would seem that the Nova Storm spell had taken a lot out of her," Isis calmly informed him.

Max caught a glimpse of Pandora lying unconscious on the ground, he grabbed Loz and he threw him to the ground before summoning two glowing blue flames. "DARK NOVA!" Max yelled as he launched a ball of dark energy at Loz, when the dust cleared all that was left was a skull. Max picked up the skull. "Poor Loz," he said mockingly at the skull, "were it for art not…" He grinned evilly and crushed the skull before he changed back to normal, he ran over to the group. "Is Pandora ok?" He asked.

"She passed out," Isis answered him.

Max took Pandora from Isis and he placed her onto the ground, he knelt down beside her and he placed one hand on her head and the other on her stomach. He closed his eyes and concentrated as he chanted words in a strange language that no one could understand. "Endios bhen dik mathen dern," Max chanted quietly as both he and Pandora were surrounded by a bright white light. When the light disappeared Max opened his eyes and he moved away and he waited patiently. Two minutes later and Pandora regained consciousness.

"Oh…" Pandora moaned as she tried to focus her vision, "Max?"

Max nodded, "Yeah," He answered, "I'm so glad you're safe, you had me worried."

Pandora smiled at Max, "you came back for me."

Max smiled back, "why wouldn't I come back?" He asked not taking his eyes off Pandora.

"When Loz was beating me up," Pandora explained sadly, "I thought you were never going to come. I was already in a weakened state after casting Nova Storm."

Max was about to respond but Reno had got there first, "Whoa!" He exclaimed obviously impressed, "you guys are the flashiest people I have ever met! And Max," He turned to Max as he said this. "Talk about Mr Angry, you beat the crap out of Loz and you took the piss out of his skull!"

Max stared at Reno and then back to Pandora with a confused expression on his face. Pandora slowly sat up and smiled at Max again trying hard not to laugh. "This is Reno by the way," Pandora told Max, "and the guy over there is called Rude." Pandora pointed to Rude who just there with his arms folded.

"Hi," he said blankly.

Reno laughed, "a man of a few words," he joked.

"These guys helped me out," Pandora added as Max helped her to her feet.

Max looked at Reno and Rude and smiled at them, "thanks guys," he replied gratefully.

"Ah you're welcome," Reno brushed off Max's thanks.

Pandora turned to Max, "where are the others?" She asked him.

"They're in the Sierra," Max answered, he and Pandora could hear the whirring of an engine as the Sierra landed on the ground near them and everyone ran off the airship. Max, Pandora, Isis, Drogo, Reno and Rude walked over to the group.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked them.

"What happened?" Sunny asked as she hugged Drogo.

"We managed to kill Kadaj and Loz," Max replied, "Loz got turned into a skull and Kadaj was turned into a bone. Their good halves are currently in the life stream."

"_Have you been talking to Zack and Aerith?" _Pandora questioned Max in his head.

"_They won't shut up," _Max complained in Pandora's head.

"_I know what you mean."_

"I think those were necromical copies of their originals," Max theorised.

"But who's creating them?" Pandora asked.

Max shrugged, "I don't know," he responded, everyone looked up to see Yazoo get sent flying into the roof of a building. Vincent (who was still in Chaos Form) landed on him and unloaded bullets into his head. A rotting bony hand fell to the floor where Yazoo was. Vincent jumped off the building and landed where the rest of the group was.

"I guess that's all of them," Isis stated as Vincent landed next to her.

"I don't think we've heard the last of them though," Max cut in.

Vincent turned back to normal and Reno stared at him. "Well look who decided to show up," Reno muttered sarcastically, "you know you can crack a smile every once in while." Vincent just ignored him.

"We should get out of here," Pandora stated finally, changing the subject.

Max nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "where's the WRO Headquarters?"

Reno stepped forwards, "well seen as we have Cid's Airship," Reno suggested, "we could go to the Seventh Heaven Bar in Edge to have a drink and celebrate our…"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Pandora quickly interrupted Reno.

"Why not?" Reno demanded impatiently placing his hands on his hips and glaring at Pandora.

"Max isn't very tolerant to alcohol," Pandora answered glaring back at Reno.

"Tifa has non-alcoholic beverages," Cloud spoke up.

Everyone turned to stare hopefully at Cid. "What?" He demanded glaring at them all. "Why do you think I'm gonna let you use my…I'M NOT A FRIGGIN TAXI FIRM!"

"Cid!" Angel admonished as she stared at him in shock.

"I really don't friggin care!" Cid shot back, he was in no mood to be told off by Angel.

"So where are we going then?" Sunny asked.

"Cid," Vincent finally spoke and he stared calmly at the pilot. "We need a ride to Edge, I'll be waiting in the Sierra." Vincent walked on to the airship before Cid could reply.

Cid sighed, "fine!" He snapped still glaring at the group, "see how well you get off the ground without…"

Lance grinned and turned to face Max, "Max," Lance interrupted Cid, "looks like you've got the steering wheel."

Max grinned evilly at Cid, "alright, one hotwired airship coming right up."

"Oh no you don't!" Cid yelled glaring at Max, "if anyone's flying you to Edge it's me…shit!"

"Cid!" Angel yelled at Cid again, "Watch your language!"

Drogo, Lance and Max grinned evilly at Cid. Cid merely laughed at Angel. "Oh, how's this for you then?" He asked mockingly, "SHITDY SHIT SHIT BASTARD!" Cid cursed loudly much to Angel's annoyance.

"CID"

"BASTARD!" Cid cursed again, completely ignoring Angel.

"Angel," Tifa spoke quietly to Angel, "no force on Heaven and Earth could get Cid to stop swearing."

Cid grinned, "you see," he told Angel, "she understands me," he stared at Tifa's chest area, "hey Tifa!" He questioned, "did you have plastic surgery?"

It took Tifa all her will power to not knock Cid through the nearest wall, but she just grimaced at Cid. Barret saw the tension and he decided to step in and quickly change the subject. "At least we can make sure that Marlene and Denzel are safe."

Max thought quietly for a while, then an idea hit him. "Hey Cid!" He asked the pilot. "How far is Edge from here?"

"About 20 miles," Cid answered staring sceptically at Max, "why?"

"I bet you we can beat the Sierra on the ground," Drogo cut in grinning at Cid.

Cid turned his attention to Drogo, "how much?"

"I can make your ship go twice as fast if you win," Max answered.

Cid gave Max another sceptical stare, "and how do I know you ain't shitting me?" Cid demanded.

"Remember Barret's old bike?" Max asked Cid.

"That hunk of junk!" Cid replied, "Yeah."

Max nodded, "the bike is currently in the cargo hold of the airship."

"Shit," Cid cursed under his breath.

Max and Drogo stared patiently at Cid, "Well?" They asked him in perfect unison.

Cid grinned at Max and Drogo, "you're friggin on!" He agreed as he, Max and Drogo shook hands.

Everyone quickly boarded the Sierra, Max, Drogo, Sunny and Pandora walked to the cargo hold of the Sierra. Five minutes later Drogo's car and Max's bike were on the ground again. Cid's airship took off while Max and Pandora rode on Max's bike and Drogo and Sunny rode in Drogo's car. The sound of heavy techno music could be heard from Drogo's car. The Sierra was struggling to keep up as Max's bike and Drogo's car were still going strong.

"I think we're going to beat Cid!" Max stated loudly to Pandora.

Pandora laid her head no Max's back and closed her eyes. "I've missed you," She stated quietly.

Max smiled as he felt Pandora's warm breath on his back, "I've missed you too Pandora." Max told her, "so how did Reno and Rude help you?" He asked curiously.

"They found me unconscious in the streets of Kalm," Pandora answered she still had her head resting on Max's back. "When I woke up I was in the WRO Headquarters."

Max sighed as they speed down the highway to Edge, the wind was blowing his hair back making it even more unruly than usual. "I guess I owe them a lot," Max said to Pandora.

Pandora nodded, "yeah," she agreed, "So what about you?"

"I fell through the roof of a mansion and I ended up in the basement," Max explained, "Cloud found me."

Pandora laughed quietly to herself, "I guess I owe him a lot too."

"_I owe all three of them a lot for keeping my son and daughter in law alive," _Aurora spoke in both of their heads.

"_Aurora," _Pandora addressed Aurora, _"it's good to hear your voice again."_

"_Hi mum," _Max replied, _"sorry I haven't spoken to you for a while, things have gotten a bit hectic."  
"That's ok," _Aurora said kindly.

"_I'm guessing you've discovered that Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were just necromical copies," _Max continued.

"_Yes," _Aurora replied, _"but they'll be back."_

"_And so will countless others," _Aerith cut in.

"_Oh joy," _Max muttered sarcastically, _"by any chance are these copies like the same magic in Pandora's birth place?"_

"_It's similar," _Aurora answered, _"but more powerful."_

"_So it's not Pandora's aunt then," _Max heaved a huge sigh of relief, _"I'm glad she remained dead."_

"_It's someone much more powerfully than Pandora's aunt," _Aurora stated gravely.

"_Oh great…" _Max muttered sarcastically again.

"_Max?" _Pandora asked out of concern. _"Are you ok?"_

"_I'm fine," _Max answered.

"_Do you guys know who it is?" _Pandora asked Aurora, Aerith and Zack.

"_No," _Aurora and Aerith responded.

"_Err…no," _Zack replied a few seconds later.

"_No one knows," _Aerith added.

"_So no one in the life stream knows?" _Max questioned even though he knew what the answer was.

"_It doesn't look like it," _Zack answered.

"_Well," _Pandora theorised, _"it's probably someone who's so powerful that they can mask their own presence."_

"_Could it be one of Scarlet or Balthazar's minions?" _Max asked Pandora.

"_Well, there were some demons who were necromancers," _Pandora informed Max, _"but they weren't really that powerful."_

"_So it could be one of Balthazar's followers that you didn't know about."_

"_It's a possibility."_

"_Great…"_

"_This is something we have to discuss with everyone," _Pandora stated.

"_Ok," _Max agreed, _"It was nice talking to you mum, I'll tell dad you said hi."_

"_Thank you Max," _Aurora replied gratefully, _"we'll be in touch if we find out anything else."_

"_Ok," _Max responded, with that Aurora and Aerith disappeared, Zack was about to leave when Pandora called him back.

"_Hey Zack, before you go, I want to ask you a few questions."_

"_Ok," _Zack replied, _"Shoot."_

"_Well," _Pandora began, _"When you and Cloud were captured by Hojo, what did he do to you?"_

"_Well," _Zack answered as truthfully as he could, _"he tried to turn me and Cloud in to Super Soldiers, but I was already one."_

"_The Jenova Cells…" _Pandora questioned.

"_I already had them inside me so adding more didn't really make much difference," _Zack informed her. _"Cloud however became more powerful."_

"_But he went around thinking that he was you."_

"_Yeah," _Zack agreed with Pandora, _"his mind was left wide open, and I told him about one or two of my adventures to pass the time." _

"I see…" Pandora understood what Zack was saying. _"Weren't you mad at him?"_

"_Of course not," _Zack answered trying to stifle his laughter. _"I just found it funny each time he was acting like me."_

Pandora laughed at this, _"you always make a joke about everything," _she stated, _"Reno and Rude told me they didn't want to kill you." _

"Yeah, but Shinra also wanted me to keep quiet, that could've meant prison."

"_They said that if they didn't kill you, you would've killed them." _

"That's if I was trying to kill them, but they didn't kill me. I was shot in the head by SOLDIER."

"_When?"_

"_When I reached the outskirts of Midgar."_

"_Did they snipe you?" _Pandora asked curiously.

"_They tried to on a truck," _Zack replied, _"I got shot several times on a hill."_

"_Wasn't that overkill?"_

"_It was overkill all the way there."_

"_What about your parents?" _Pandora found herself asking even though she knew that Zack was probably reluctant to answer that question.

"_They don't know and I don't want them to know," _Zack answered rather quickly and reluctantly.

"_But don't you think they have a right to know?"_

"_Oh gee what do I say?" _Zack muttered sarcastically, _"Sorry I haven't been in touch with you for the past 12 years mum and dad, but I was a human guinea pig for five years and for the rest of the time I was dead!"_

"_Max," _Pandora turned to Max, _"help me out here!"_

"_I'm driving," _Max replied, _"besides, if Zack hasn't been in contact with his parents for years and he doesn't want to then who are we to force him."_

"_But don't you even care about your parents?" _Pandora asked Zack.

"_They weren't very pleased with the whole SOLDIER idea," _Zack responded.

"_How come?"_

"_My hometown weren't exactly fans of the Shinra since the reactor blew up."_

"_So what made you join SOLDIER?"  
_

"_The action, the adventure, the romance…"_

_Aerith…" _Pandora finished Zack's sentence.

"_Actually women were flocking to me like geese," _Zack stated slyly. _"It was great." _

Zack!" Pandora admonished him.

"_Hey can I help it if I'm a babe magnet?" _Zack was quick to defend himself.

"_Ah ha…" _Pandora replied sceptically. _"Anyway, is there a chance that any of the spirits in the life stream can be brought back to life again?" _

"Well that would take a miracle," came the reply, _"and also I wouldn't be in the mood to come back if Aerith wasn't with me."_

"_So you're saying it's never been done before."  
_

"_Yeah…" _Zack replied reluctantly, _"let's go with that one."_

"_But you guys can come back in spirit form right." _

Zack coughed as he spoke, _"only to…heroes."_

"_Right…sure…thanks Zack."_

"_Anytime."_

"_Ok," _Pandora had to think fast, she knew that Zack wasn't that bright and that he could be easily influenced if he was asked in a certain way. _"So…is there a way for you guys to be brought back?"_

"_Well you…" _Zack began to answer but he stopped when he realised what Pandora was up to. _"Ah ha! I already told you there's no way…"_

"_I know," _Pandora cut in, _"but I'll find a way."_

"_Ha ha!" _Zack laughed, _"good luck with that."  
_

"_Thanks."  
_

"_You're welcome."_

"_Talk to you guys soon."_

"_See ya," _Zack said goodbye before he too disappeared.

"Hold on!" Max warned Pandora as he twisted handle bar fully as the bike pulled a wheelie.

"Whoa!" Pandora cried out as she wrapped her arms tighter around Max's waist. Max saw this and laughed.

"I told you to hold on!" He said to her.

"I was holding on!" Pandora retorted.

The front wheel of the bike set down on the ground with a bump and its speed increased. "Look!" Pandora yelled and she pointed to a city on the horizon, "I can see Edge, we're almost there!"

Max saw the city of Edge and he grinned, "I told Cid this bike was fast," he stated smugly, "the Sierra is half a mile behind us!"

"So we're gonna beat Cid?" Pandora asked Max.

Max nodded," Yeah!" He replied as Drogo lined up next to Max's bike. "Drogo on the other hand…"

Drogo looked at the bike and grinned, he pushed the afterburner button and fire built up in the exhaust pipes at the rear of the car. "See ya!" Drogo yelled at Max and Pandora as the car shot forwards going at a speed of 600 mph.

"Hey!" Pandora yelled after Drogo, "We're supposed to be racing against the Sierra, not each other!"

Max pressed a button next to the handle bar and the bike sped up, the speedometer said 432mph and was still climbing. Pandora gave Max a worried look. "Don't tell me you put nitrox afterburner in the bike."

Max nodded, "yeah, why don't you like it?"

"It's not that…"

"Then what is it?"

"Are you sure it's safe on a bike?"

"Well," Max began to explain, "it didn't blow the bike up and I only used half of what was in a car."

"Oh," Pandora said relieved, "that's ok then."

Max's bike caught up with Drogo's car, Sunny looked to her right and she saw the bike next to her. She waved to Max and Pandora. "It looks like the Sierra is far behind us," she stated and she turned to Drogo.

"Yeah," Drogo agreed, "Max built a fast bike, but I think this car can compete."

"It's good to see that everyone is back together again," Sunny said happily.

"Yeah," Drogo's car passed Max's bike as they got close to Edge.

"Are we almost there?" Sunny asked him.

"Just half a mile left," Drogo told her.

Ten minutes later Drogo, Sunny, Max and Pandora arrived in Edge and they waited patiently for everyone else to arrive. After fifteen minutes went by Cid and the others appeared, Drogo and Max grinned smugly at him. "Alright!" Cid yelled at them, "you win, so what do I owe you?"

"Well," Drogo suggested, "you can by a round."

Cid nodded, "fair enough," he agreed, "that'll cost an absolute fortune for everyone but…"

"Actually," Tifa cut in, "for today only, all the drinks are on me."

Cid grinned at Tifa, "Well that was damn decent of ya, you sick?"

Tifa shook her head, "no," she replied but she couldn't help grinning. "come on, my bar is just up ahead."

Tifa started walking down the street and everyone followed her until they reached the Seventh Heaven. Half an hour later after everyone had gotten a few drinks inside them (except for Max and Nightshade as they had a low tolerance to alcohol, and Max remembering what happened the last time he got drunk decided to steer clear of the stuff) they started to relax and had a good time. Tifa with the help of Sunny (who gave Tifa a few helpful recipes and tips) cooked food for everyone. Barret, Cid, Drogo and Lance were playing poker, Yuffie and Angel were watching them. Drogo who had been playing poker since the age of 13 had a real knack for the game and won, Lance had to resist the urge to use his target sensor to see what cards everyone had. Barret and Cid had no clue what so ever and Cid kept cursing every time he lost.

"What the hell?!" He cursed loudly, Angel had to resist the urge to yell at him. "I swear this game is rigged!"

Drogo laughed at this, "that's loser talk."

Everyone else was busy talking to each other, except for Vincent who was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut and Nightshade was sat in a corner by himself. He was never one to talk unless it was necessary, Cloud noticed this and he walked over to him.

"You shouldn't be alone you know," he said suddenly causing Nightshade to open his eyes and stare at him.

"I'm not really one for conversation," Nightshade stated calmly.

Cloud sat down next to him, "Neither was I, but you can't spend the rest of your life alone, I learnt that the hard way."

"I know," Nightshade told Cloud, "I spent most of my childhood and the passed 17/18 years alone."

"I wonder where Max and Pandora have gone?" Cloud asked Nightshade.

Nightshade grinned at Cloud, "they're outside," he answered, "I think they wanted to spend some time alone."

Meanwhile Max and Pandora were sat on the roof of the Seventh Heaven underneath the angel statue. Pandora had flown Max up there and she now rested her head on his chest and they both looked up to see the stars shimmering in the night sky.

"Wow," Pandora whispered to Max, "they're so beautiful."

"Yeah," Max whispered back, thought he was a little distracted and Pandora noticed this.

"Something on you're mind?" She asked staring up at him.

Max nodded and he looked down at her, "yeah, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Max sighed, "about what happened today, I have the strange feeling that this isn't over."

"I know," Pandora said, "Cloud said we were gonna have a meeting tomorrow, but for now, let's just relax."

Max released his hold on Pandora and he stood up. "I can't I just have this horrible feeling that…" The rest of Max's words were muffled because Pandora had grabbed hold of him and kissed him. Max's eyes closed as he slowly fell into the kiss, and for what seemed like an eternity the two stood there kissing long into the night blissfully unaware that sinister things were about to take place.

* * *

**Yay, chapter 11 is complete it took me forever to write this so please go easy on me. The whole gang is reunited, what happens next? Find out in chapter 12 which hopefully will becoming soon, however I start semester 2 of uni this week so I may be busy for a while, but I'll try and write more chapters if I can. Enjoy.**


	12. The Meeting

**Chapter 12: The Meeting**

It was the crack of dawn when Cloud had gotten everyone up so that he could start the meeting. There was no room for everyone to sleep in the Seventh Heaven so they all slept on the Sierra, of course some of them had to share rooms, but there were hardly any complaints since Red didn't need a bed and Vincent didn't need much sleep after his thirty years of slumber.

"Alright!" Cloud yelled as he banged on the door of every room to wake everyone up. "I'm starting the meeting!"

There was much moaning and groaning as everyone got out of bed and made their way to the meeting room. Marlene and Denzel were also aboard the airship, but because they were too young to take part in the meeting they were allowed to sleep in. Cloud was already in the meeting room as everyone else filed into the room. There weren't enough chairs to go round so Max, Nightshade, Isis, Vincent, Reno and Rude volunteered to stand up.

"What time is it?" Drogo asked wearily as he swung his legs over one arm of his chair.

Sunny looked at her watch, "five o clock in the morning," she answered sleepily.

"Shit," Drogo cursed under his breath. Cid however was much more vocal about being dragged out of bed at this time.

"Why the bloody hell do we have to start the meeting at the bloody crack of dawn!" Cid yelled as he glared at Cloud.

"Because," Cloud retorted as he glared back at Cid, "the sooner we figure out what the hell is going on, the sooner we can do something about it!"

"Well can't we start the meeting when it's morning?" Drogo asked agreeing with Cid.

"There you see!" Cid yelled victoriously, "At least someone agrees with me!" Cid took a cigarette out of his pocket and he began to light it.

"Cid!" Angel yelled staring at the now lit cigarette in Cid's hand. "If you're going to smoke, please take it outside!"

"Damn woman!" Cid shouted irritably at Angel, "This is my damn airship and I'll smoke if I want to! I won't have some chick with a snooty accent telling me I can't smoke on my own bloody airship!"

"Oh crap," Lance muttered under his breath as he gazed nervously at Angel who was sat next to him glaring daggers at Cid.

"Snooty…Accent!" She shouted as she drew her blades and pointed them threateningly at Cid.

"Guys can we please start the meeting?!" Cloud yelled and everyone was immediately silent. Cloud smiled, he hadn't lost his authority over the years. "Good, now Angel put you're blades away, Cid didn't mean to insult you. Cid," Cloud stared at Cid as he spoke. "Put the cigarette out, no one wants to breath it in!" Angel said nothing and she put her blades away. Cid sighed irritably and he cursed so quietly under his breath that not even Pandora could here him and he rather reluctantly snubbed out the cigarette. Cloud nodded to show that he was satisfied. "That's better," he said, "now as we all know, Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz have returned. How they came back after being dead for two years is anyone's guess. Of course I'm open to suggestions."

"Well Max said that Kadaj was turned into a bone," Tifa spoke up and everyone focused their attention on her. "Yazoo was turned into a hand and Loz was turned into a skull…"

"That means that they're not the real Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz," Barret cut in, he was looking as confused as ever. "And that just doesn't make sense."

"I think they may be necromical copies," Max suggested he walked over to the front of the room and stood next to Cloud, "it makes perfect sense."

"Are you saying that the return of Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz is the work of a Necromancer?" Red asked enquiringly not taking his eyes off the Kitsune.

"If Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were turned into bones when they were killed," Vincent cut in, "that's all a Necromancer needs to bring back a person."

"But who's bringing them back to life?" Yuffie demanded staring at everyone in turn.

"That's what I want to find out," Max stated, "I remember back on Terra Firma there was a village that was placed under a Necromancer's curse, it could be a similar kind of spell."

Cloud thought about this, and then another, more pressing thought hit him. _"What if Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz aren't the only ones that have been brought back? What if there's more of them?" _Cloud remembered fighting Sephiroth in the ruins of Midgar two years ago despite having already killed him twice before. Cloud shuddered at that memory, he hoped that he wouldn't have to fight Sephiroth again. "Hmmm…" He said out loud when he realised that everyone was staring at him. "It could explain a lot."

"Could someone just explain to me what's going on?" Barret demanded as he banged his metal arm on the table, "this is all too damn confusing."

"Yeah," Reno added, "maybe you could start telling us how you guys got here."

Max sighed, he'd already explained it enough times and he wasn't even sure himself. "Look, all I remember is seeing a planet that could have been this on in the sky. There was a strong wind and we heard a voice…"

"Voice?" Cloud interrupted as he stared at Max. "What kind of voice?"

"Like a mysterious woman's voice," Max answered unsure of how to explain it.

"Yeah," Pandora chipped in, "she said something about our troubles just beginning…"

"The next thing we knew, we were here," Max continued the explanation.

Cloud sighed, "this just doesn't make sense, Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz have returned, even though you guys killed them again they can just as easily return."

"I don't know of anyone who's practiced or is practicing necromancy," Tifa told everyone.

"Which means that the one responsible for this is not of this world," Nightshade said bluntly, his eyes were shut as if he was thinking of something.

Cloud nodded, "yeah, it would explain a lot, maybe the person responsible arrived here when you guys did."

"The question is," Lance asked, "What do we do about it?"

"Well, until we find out who's responsible and what we're dealing with," Max answered, "I guess there's not really much we can do."

"We could go back to WRO HQ," Reno suggested, "If there is any suspicious activities going on they should know about it."

Cloud stared at Reno for a moment then nodded, "Ok, the WRO should've been able to pick up these strange activities." He stated, "Rufus or Reeve are bound to know something."

"So I guess this means we're heading to WRO?" Barret asked staring at Cloud. Cloud nodded.

"And I suppose muggins here has to take you there?" Cid asked a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"That would be a big help, thank you Cid," Cloud replied gratefully.

"Hey Cid!" Yuffie added loudly making sure that Cid heard her. "Do you think maybe you could take things a little easier when…"

"No deal!" Cid interrupted her, "You don't like how I fly the Sierra you can walk to WRO!"

"Fine, but if I throw up…"

"You're cleaning it up…"

"Can we just get going?!" Cloud snapped causing Cid and Yuffie to stop arguing. "Cid, can you please fly us to WRO?"

"Alright, seen as you asked nicely."

Everyone left the meeting room, Cid and most of the others went to the bridge, Max explored the airship and headed straight to the engine room.

"Wow!" Max exclaimed as he looked at the generator inside the room. "This reminds me of the airship we travelled in on Terra Firma, only this one is more advance." Max walked over to the generator and he was about to take a look at it when he heard Cid's voice on the intercom.

"Max! You better not be touching anything in that bloody engine room or I'll kill you, drag you're scrawny ass back from Hell and kill you again"

Max smiled and shook his head, "ok, ok," he muttered to himself, "you don't have to threaten me…not that I'm scared, but I better stay away from it." Max stepped away from the generator, he could hear the sound of a slap and Cid yelling down the intercom again.

"Ouch! That hurt you bitch!"

"Stop having a go at Max!" Pandora shot back, "And by the way, the intercom is still on!"

"I…what…" Cid shouted as he quickly found the button and switched the intercom off. Max chuckled to himself, he was going to tease Cid about that later and he walked out of the engine room.

Meanwhile Cloud was standing on the deck outside, he was leaning against the railing letting the morning breeze blow in his face making him feel more refreshed, the sun had just risen and Cloud sighed as he looked out. He didn't even notice Tifa come up behind him.

"You ok?" She asked as she stood next to him.

Cloud turned round quickly his eyes were wide with shock but his expression soon changed to one of relief when he realised who it was. "Oh, it's you Tifa, yeah I'm ok."

Tifa smiled, "Good, Marlene and Denzel have just woken up."

Cloud smiled back at Tifa, "that's good," then he sighed, "I feel terrible about bringing them with us."

"Don't worry," Tifa reassured him, "they're having the time of their lives, in fact they're glad to get out of Edge for a while, you know, a change of scene."

Cloud nodded, "yeah, you're right…" Cloud began to fall silent again, he hung his head low and he avoided Tifa's gaze.

"Cloud are you sure you're ok?" Tifa asked she placed her hand under Cloud's chin and she forced him to look at her.

"It's just that…" Cloud started but then he faltered slightly unable to think of what to say next.

Tifa stared at him inquisitively, "Yes?" She questioned.

Cloud sighed again, "Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz coming back, what if it's a sign?"

Tifa shook her head, "oh Cloud."

"I'm serious Tifa," Cloud glared at Tifa and she laughed, she loved winding him up sometimes, then when she saw the seriousness on his face she immediately stopped laughing and Cloud was able to continue. "what if…he comes back?"

"Cloud, Sephiroth isn't gonna come back," Tifa said and she took hold of his hand to reassure him, "besides, even if he did we can beat him again."

"I don't know if I can this time."

"Of course you can, we can always depend on you, and we've got Max and the others helping us this time."

Cloud nodded, Tifa was right, she was always right about things like this. Cloud wrapped his arms round Tifa's waist and he pulled her close to him and he looked into those warm brown eyes, those eyes that he had grown to love. "Thanks Tifa, you always know just what to say."

Tifa smiled as she placed her arms round his neck, "What can I say?" She joked, "I've had a lot of practice over these past few years."

"I love you Tifa Lockhart," Cloud whispered in Tifa's ear.

"I love you too Cloud Strife?" Tifa whispered back, she placed her hands on both sides of Cloud's face and she kissed him on the lips, a few moments later she let go leaving Cloud momentarily stunned.

"Wow…" Cloud managed to utter, "you're…a…really…good…kisser…"

Tifa smiled. "Thanks."

"What did I do to deserve you?" Cloud asked.

"Oh shut up and kiss me Cloud!"

Tifa and Cloud kissed again but for much longer this time, they were so immersed that they didn't even notice that Nightshade had just come on to the deck. "Hey guys Cid told me to tell you that we were…" Nightshade stopped talking when he saw Cloud and Tifa kissing, they broke apart quickly and they stared at Nightshade. "I'll just come back later," he said before walking off.

"Hey Nightshade wait!" Cloud called after the Kitsune, Nightshade stopped and he turned round.

"Yeah."

"It's ok," Cloud replied, "we're coming now, we were just…"

"Hoping to be alone," Nightshade finished Cloud's sentence, "it's ok, I understand."

There was a moment of awkward silence where Cloud and Nightshade just stared at each other. "Let's just get inside," Tifa broke the silence and she, Cloud and Nightshade walked back into the airship and soon everyone was on the bridge.

"Well…looks like the two love birds decided to show up," Cid joked, "How long were you planning on keeping us waiting?"

"Well…I…"

Cid laughed, "relax I'm just messing with ya you knucklehead!"

There was a clicking sound and Cloud was shocked to see Drogo taking a picture of the shocked expression on his face. "Drogo!" Cloud yelled glaring at him.

Drogo laughed, "hey I couldn't resist, the look on your face, it was priceless and…hey, what you doing?"

Cloud snatched the camera off Drogo and he smashed it under his foot. "Don't you ever take pictures of me again, understand!"

Drogo merely shrugged, "it doesn't matter anyway it was a disposable."

"Anyway…" Cid cut in before Cloud could respond, "we're coming up to the WRO Headquarters now."

Cid pulled back on the controls and the Sierra began to descend, five minutes later and the group walked through the main entrance to the WRO HQ. Cloud walked up to the reception desk where a young woman with curly blonde hair who was blowing bubble gum was sat.

"Can I help you?" She asked staring at Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he placed his hand on the desk. "Is Rufus Shinra or Reeve here? If they are tell them that Cloud Strife wants to see them."

"Just a second," the receptionist picked up the phone and dialled a number it rang for a few seconds then a posh sounding voice answered.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Sir, a man called Cloud Strife wants to see you."

"Is he alone, or are his friends with him?"

"There's a whole group with him sir."

"Hmmm…" Rufus thought for a while then he spoke again, "very well, send them up."

"Alright, bye." The receptionist hung up on the phone and she smiled at Cloud, "Rufus is in his office, he said he'll see you."

"Ok, thanks."

Cloud walked away from the reception desk and he made his way back to the group.

"Well," Reno asked, "What did she say?"

"She said that Rufus was in his office," Cloud answered.

"So are we all going up there?" Max questioned.

Cloud nodded, "yeah, but I don't think we'll all fit in the elevator."

"I'll take the stairs," Vincent stated and he made his way upstairs.

"I'll follow him," Isis replied, she was about to walk off when Cid stopped her.

"Won't you get tired?"

"I'm a cyborg," Isis answered grinning smugly, "Cyborgs don't get tired that easily." She then followed Vincent up the stairs, Lance, Drogo, Max and Nightshade took the stairs leaving everyone else to take the elevator. Ten minutes later and they were standing outside Rufus' office. Reno knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Rufus called out. Reno opened the door and gestured for everyone to go inside before he entered himself and closed the door. The office was a large rectangular room, there were two desks one belonging to Reeve which was now currently empty and the other desk was by the window and Rufus was currently sat at it and he stood up when he saw Cloud and the others approaching. "Aaahhh, Cloud, I see you've located everyone."

Cloud nodded, "yeah."

"I heard that Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz returned and were causing trouble in Kalm," Rufus replied.

"We contacted Rufus as soon as they were defeated," Reno explained.

"WRO agents have been sent to try and make everything as normal as possible," Rufus told everyone.

"I have a feeling they'll be back though," Max spoke up suddenly causing Rufus to stare at him but Rufus wasn't shocked for long.

"You must be Max," he spoke calmly and he smiled as Max gave him a blank stare. "Pandora has told me all about you, she said that you were quite the mechanic."

Max ruffled his already unruly hair, "yeah, she told you that?"

Rufus nodded, "yes, anyway, you were saying."

Max with the help of Pandora, Drogo, Reno and Rude explained everything that had happened in Kalm and how Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz had appeared out of nowhere and were causing trouble.

"So let me get this straight," Rufus asked again, "you think that they were just necromical copies of the originals."

Max nodded, "it's a possibility," he answered, "we were hoping that you'd know something."

"I have agents all over the world who send me hourly reports, they haven't reported anything suspicious or out of the ordinary," Rufus informed them.

"Unless of course this person was so powerful that they can mask their presence," Max suggested.

"Hmmm, an interesting theory," Rufus said not taking his eyes off Max, "that could mean that Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz and possibly many others could return at anytime."

"Which is why we need to nail this thing and fast," Cloud cut in a hint of urgency in his voice.

"But we can't do anything unless we know who's behind it," Tifa told the group.

Rufus was about to reply when the door opened and Reeve entered the room.

"You're late Reeve!" Rufus snapped at his partner.

"Sorry Rufus," Reeve apologised, "I was just adding the finishing touches to Cait Sith, anyway, we received an urgent message from the Northern Cave five minutes ago."

Rufus stared at Reeve, "What?"

"I have it here on tape," Reeve handed Rufus a tape and he placed it into the radio and pushed the play button.

"_Sir it seems that there are suspicious activities going on in the Northern Cave, we're not sure what it is exactly but it's something huge and…oh no it's you…" _There was the sound of gunshots and a sword slashing its victims followed by muffled cries for help before the transmission was cut off.

"The transmission ends there," Reeve told Rufus

Rufus pushed the stop button and he banged his hands on the desk, "this can't be happening," he muttered to himself.

"We have to go to Northern Cave," Cloud stated finally and he began to leave the room but Tifa stopped him.

"You want to go to Northern Cave?" She asked him.

"We don't have any other choice," Cloud answered, "if there are strange things going on there then we need to do something."

"But Cloud…" Tifa started but Cloud interrupted her.

"No buts Tifa, we have to do something."

"If you're going to Northern Cave, then I have a favour to ask of you," Reeve requested staring hopefully at Cloud.

Cloud stared at Reeve, "shoot."

"I've just finished adding the modifications to Cait Sith and he's ready to go out into the field again." Just as Reeve finished speaking Cait Sith entered the room and smiled at the group.

"Cait Sith version 6 at you're service."

"Oh great," Cid muttered sarcastically, "I have to put up the with stuffed cat again."

"Did you say something Cid?" Cait Sith asked as he glared at Cid.

"No nothing," Cid answered.

"We'll take Cait Sith with us," Cloud told Reeve.

"Thank you Cloud."

Tifa looked at Denzel and Marlene who were sat on chairs fast asleep and then she looked at Rufus. "Rufus, is it ok if we leave Denzel and Marlene here for a while?"

Rufus' eyes grew wide with shock as he heard that. "What?" He asked staring at Tifa.

"Please Rufus, it's just for a little while, until we can sort this out."

"This is the WRO! Rufus snapped, "Not a baby sitting service!"

"Please Rufus," Tifa gave Rufus a pleading look and in the end Rufus sighed.

"Fine," Rufus gave in, "but they better not cause any trouble, we're very busy here."

Tifa smiled at Rufus, "thank you Rufus, I really appreciate this."

"Don't forget to pick them up when you're finished, Reno, Rude!" The two Turks snapped to attention. "I want you to accompany Avalanche and Max's friends, contact me if you find anything."

"Yes boss," Reno and Rude said in perfect unison.

"Let's go," Cloud ordered and everyone left the room, Max however remained behind for a moment.

"Hey Reeve, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Reeve smiled at Max, "Sure."

"You created Cait Sith, right?"

Reeve nodded, "Yes, why?"

"Well," he took a bag that contained all of his friend's broken teleportation devices and he gave them to Reeve. "I invented these back on my home world, they're teleportation devices, but they got damaged in the storm, and what with everything going on I don't have time to fix them. I was wondering if you'd be able to look at them for me."

Reeve looked at the devices, "hmmm…this is interesting technology, I've never seen anything like it, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Reeve," Max said gratefully. "I appreciate it."

Reeve smiled, "Anytime."

Max smiled back and he left the room to catch up with the others, ten minutes later and they were all on the Sierra again. They were all currently on the bridge and Cid spoke to them through the intercom. "Alright this is your damn captain speaking!" He boomed in his usual voice whenever he spoke on the intercom. "We're on our way to the Northern Cave, it'll take a couple of hours to get there so shut up and enjoy the ride! Oh and Max if you go within five meters of that engine room and I'll skin you alive and use your fur as a rug, understand!"

"Come on Cid," Max pleaded, "I can make this ship go five times as fast if you just let me…"

"I wouldn't let you meddle with my ship if my life depended on it now shut up and leave that bloody engine room alone!"

Max sighed, "Fine, it's your loss."

Cid ignored him, "Alright, we're clear for take off!" The Sierra took off and was heading towards the Northern Cave, the familiar sound of Yuffie throwing up and Cid yelling at her could be heard.

"Are you doing that on bloody purpose?!" Cid cursed at Yuffie, "I had the damn floor waxed yesterday!"

Yuffie moaned as she got the all too familiar mop and began to clean up where she was sick. An hour or two later and the Sierra landed at the top of Northern Cave and everyone was in the meeting room again.

"So who's gonna go down there?" Pandora asked the group.

"Don't look at me!" Yuffie quickly spoke up. "I'm not going down there!"

Cloud sighed, "I'll go," he told everyone, "I'm not afraid to go down there any more."

"I'll go with you," Max said as he stood next to Cloud, "I feel responsible for this."

"Why should you feel responsible?" Tifa asked him.

"All this trouble started when we arrived," Max answered.

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Tifa reassured Max, "besides if Cloud is going then so am I." Cloud was about to respond when Tifa interrupted him. "I know what you're going to say and it won't work, I'm going and that's final."

Cloud sighed, "Fine, does anyone else want to come?"

"I'm gonna go too," Drogo answered he too stood up and walked over to Cloud, Tifa and Max.

"Don't forget me too!" Sunny exclaimed and she ran to Drogo.

"Sunny I…" Drogo started but Sunny just glared at him.

"I don't care what you say! Sunny yelled at him, "I'm coming with you!"

"You should take Cait Sith too," Vincent suggested.

"Yeah," Cid cut in, "then you can push him off the nearest chasm, he, he, he…" Cait Sith glared at Cid and he stopped laughing.

"I'd be glad to be of some use," Cait Sith told Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud said, "you can report anything we find to Reeve."

"We'll come too," Reno told Cloud, "so we can report anything we find to Rufus."

Cloud nodded, "Fine, so me, Max, Tifa, Pandora, Drogo, Sunny, Cait Sith, Reno and Rude will go to the Northern Cave."

With everyone in agreement, Cloud, Max, Tifa, Pandora, Drogo, Sunny, Reno and Rude went to their rooms to sort out their equipment. They came out ten minutes later wearing Winter gear.

"So is everyone ready?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah!" The whole group shouted.

"Let's go."

Cloud, Max, Tifa, Pandora, Drogo, Sunny, Cait Sith, Reno and Rude left the Sierra and made their descent to the Northern Cave. The cave hadn't changed much in four years but Max, Pandora, Drogo and Sunny were intrigued by this place.

"Wow!" Sunny exclaimed hardly able to contain her excitement, "I wonder how far down this place goes!"

"All the way to the centre of the Earth," Cloud answered as he took the lead, "now everyone stay close and follow me."

Everyone followed Cloud as they made their way deeper into the cave. It was a vast network of winding tunnels and it was easy to get lost if one didn't know the way. A few monsters attacked them but they made short work of them. Eventually they got to the area where the path split into two.

"Which way do we go?" Drogo asked.

"It doesn't matter," Cloud answered, "They all lead to the same point."

Max wasn't listening he walked off a little to the right, his eyes were focused as though he was in a trance, he continued to walk until he stepped into a puddle. He looked down and was shocked to find that it was a pool of blood.

"_What happened here?" _Max thought to himself.

Max looked ahead and he saw a body slumped against the wall, he ran over to the body and he examined it, there was a long, deep cut that ran the length of his chest and there was a look of pure horror on his face. "Hey guys!" Max yelled, "You should come and see this!"

Everyone ran up to Max and they saw the body, Sunny and Tifa gasped when they saw it. "What happened to him?" Tifa asked not taking her eyes off the body.

"He was stabbed," Max answered, "it must've been a powerful strike to produce a cut that long and deep."

Cloud took a closer look at the cut and from looking at it he recognised that kind of cut as he had seen it so many times before. _"No," _Cloud said fearfully to himself. _"It can't be, he can't be here, not now."_

Tifa grabbed hold of Cloud's shoulder and he turned to look at her. "Are you ok Cloud?"

Cloud nodded, "Yeah."

Reno took one last look at the body and he took a mobile out of his pocket and dialled a number and he spoke into the phone. "We found the missing agent," Reno told Rufus who was on the other end of the phone. "I'm afraid he's dead. No sir, we haven't found the others, we'll let you know if we find anything else. Reno out." Reno hung up on the phone and he turned to the others, "I told Rufus the situation," he informed them, "he told me to keep searching."

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to split up," Cloud decided, "it'll be safer if we stayed together."

"But which way do we go?" Pandora asked.

"Hmmm," Drogo said thoughtfully. "It seems that the blood trail leads that way, we should head right."

Cloud nodded, "Alright, we'll go right."

Without another word the group continued down the right path, again they met some enemies when they followed the spiral path, and again the group made light work of them. However when they reached the bottom of the path they saw two more men wearing WRO uniforms being killed in the most brutal fashion by a shadowy figure. Cloud and the others stared in horror as they witnessed the men being slaughtered as though they were nothing but sheep. The men fell to the ground already dead before they hit it. The man grinned and he turned to face the group his face was still hidden in the shadows and he spoke with a voice that was all too familiar to Cloud and he had hoped to never had heard it again.

"It's good to see you, Cloud."

* * *

**Well Chapter 12 is done, a bit of suspense there. If you're fans of Final Fantasy vii, which you most likely are otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading this, you may have already guessed who Cloud and the others saw at the end of that pathway. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy vii or any of its characters. I do however own characters that I have created myself.**


	13. Battle in the Northern Cave

**Chapter 13: Battle in the Northern Cave**

Cloud and the others stared in horror as the man walked out of the shadows, finally revealing himself. Cloud held his head as he began to feel faint, the black clothes, the long silver hair, the Mako green eyes. He never wanted to see this man again and now there he was standing in front of him holding his world famous Masamune sword.

"S…Sephiroth…" Cloud stuttered unable to believe that the man he had killed three times was still alive.

Sephiroth laughed at Cloud's fear, "It's good to see that I can still strike fear into you."

"I'm not afraid of you anymore Sephiroth!" Cloud retorted sounding more confident now that he had gotten over the shock of seeing his old arch enemy again.

"Who's that guy?" Pandora asked.

"That's Sephiroth," Tifa replied as Reno and Rude took a step back.

"We should just leave them to it," Reno suggested, "Things could turn quite nasty."

"We should try and see if there's any survivors," Rude added.

"And try to find out what was going on here," Cait Sith said as he crept back up the spiral path.

"But what about Cloud?" Sunny asked as she gave Cloud fleeting glances.

"I'll stay with Cloud," Max volunteered and he gave the group a reassuring smile, "don't worry, I'll be fine. You guys see if you can find any survivors."

Pandora kissed Max, "Be careful Max, I've heard from Reno and Rude what this Sephiroth guy is capable of."

Max kissed Pandora back, "Don't worry about me, I can take this guy on."

Tifa, Drogo, Sunny, Reno, Rude, Pandora and Cait Sith started to make their way back up the path, while Max walked back to where Cloud and Sephiroth were. The two men were staring at each other and neither of them moved.

"Why are you here Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded not taking his eyes off the silver head man. "Why did you come back this time?"

Sephiroth merely laughed, "you know what curiosity does to the cat."

"Enough of your games!" Cloud screamed at the man as he drew his sword and pointed it at Sephiroth, "you shouldn't be here! You're dead!"

"Humph, that's what you want to think isn't it Cloud?" Sephiroth questioned and he pointed his sword at Cloud, "it doesn't matter how many times you defeat me Cloud, I'll always come back. You can never get rid of me."

"We'll just see about that!"

"Do you honestly want to fight me?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to rid the planet of you!"

Sephiroth smiled, "as you wish, don't worry Cloud, I'll make your death as quick and painless as I can."

"Then you'll have to kill me too!"

Cloud and Sephiroth searched for the source of the voice and they turned to their left to see Max standing there with his sword drawn, he walked over to Cloud's side and he pointed his sword at Sephiroth. Sephiroth stared at his new opponent.

"Two against one," he observed, "things have gotten a little more interesting around here."

Cloud turned to face Max, "Max what are you doing?"

"Helping a friend," Max answered.

"You do know he'll probably kill you right?"

Max smiled at Cloud, "I've cheated death once before, I'm not afraid of it."

Cloud smiled back at Max, there was someone who wasn't even from this world who was risking his life to help out someone he considered a friend. "Alright," Cloud agreed, "then we'll take him together, agreed."

"Agreed."

Max and Cloud charged forwards with their swords thrust out in front of them, Sephiroth also charged forwards and all three swords met with an almighty clang.

* * *

Cait Sith led the rest of the group back up the spiral path and they followed the left passage until they reached the fork in the road.

"Now where do we go?" Sunny asked as everyone looked left and right.

"Well," Reno answered and he pointed to each path in turn. "The lower path is quicker, but the enemies are more dangerous. However the upper path leads us through a swamp area, it takes longer but it's safer."

"Couldn't we just split up?" Pandora questioned staring hopefully at Reno.

"And end up meeting anyone else who's gunning for our blood," Drogo replied before Reno had a chance to respond. "I say we stick together as a group."

"Hey!" Reno yelled glaring at Drogo, "who made you the leader?"

"Guys can we just get out of here?" Sunny asked quickly before Drogo could make a witty comeback to Reno's remark.

Cait Sith made his way towards the upper path, "I think it would be best if we take the upper path," Cait Sith stated and he made his way through the passage way. "Come on!" He called out to them from the tunnel.

Reno sighed and shook his head, "since when did we take orders from an oversized, stuffed cat?" He asked, Rude merely shrugged in response, Reno sighed again, "come on, let's go."

Everyone followed Cait Sith through the tunnel and they found themselves in what looked like a swamp. Pandora looked up at the cave ceiling and she couldn't help but chuckle. "A swamp in a cave," she commented with a smirk, "that's something you don't see everyday."

Drogo withdrew his swords and he held them out, "we should be careful, who knows what we'll encounter," he said cautiously, he then turned to Cait Sith. "Lead the way Cait Sith."

Cait Sith smiled, "right you are laddie!"

Cait Sith bobbed along the path and the others followed, strangely enough they encountered no enemies. The gang weren't sure whether to be relieved or unnerved. "I wonder why no monsters have attacked us?" Tifa questioned as she lowered her hands to her sides.

"I don't know," Drogo answered, he still held his swords out in front of him, "something's not right though," he said this with an air of suspicion in his voice and he looked down at the ground and found that it was tainted with blood. "Just as I thought," he stated, "more blood." Drogo knelt down near the pool of blood and he dipped his fingers in it, the tips of his gloves were stained with blood, "still fresh, which means whatever was killed or injured is still nearby."

There was a soft moan coming from nearby as Drogo had examined the blood, the group turned to see a man leaning against the cave wall, he was soaked in blood. Everyone ran over to the man and Reno knelt down beside him and held his head up.

"Hey?" Reno asked the man a look of concern on his face. "What happened here?"

The man moaned again as he turned his gaze to Reno, his eyes were glazed with pain. "Uhhh…Reno…" He gasped barely above a whisper.

"Yeah," Reno answered the man. "What happened?" He repeated his question.

"S…Sephiroth," the man stuttered, he was slipping in and out of consciousness. "he…came back…"

"We know," Reno told him, "we saw him, two of our comrades are fighting him as we speak.

"He…killed most of our men…" The man continued with his explanation, "I…just managed to escape…there was a woman with him…"

"A woman?" Pandora cut in, "What kind of woman?"

The man moaned again and he clutched his stomach even tighter, "I… didn't …really…see her in any detail…" the man answered he turned his attention to Pandora, "All I know is…that she had…short black hair…and she wore a purple dress…"

"Sunny," Reno turned to Sunny, "can you heal him?"

"I'll try," Sunny answered, she stepped forwards and she placed her hands above the man's wound and she concentrated. White light criss-crossed in the wound but it had no effect. "It's no good," Sunny shook her head sadly, "I can't heal him."

Everyone stared at Sunny with dismay, "why won't it work?" Drogo asked Sunny.

"Because he's dying," Sunny replied tearfully, "there's nothing more we can do."

"Did Sephiroth or this woman say anything?" Reno questioned turning his attention back to the man again.

The man shook his head weakly, "he said something about…reclaiming what was rightfully his…he said he was going to take the planet back…the woman didn't say anything…"

"Hmmm…" Tifa thought about what the man said, "reclaim what was rightfully his, that sounds like something Sephiroth would say."

"Please…" the man pleaded with the group, "you have to stop them…you can't let them…" The man gasped his last breath of air as he died in Reno's arms.

"Damn!" Reno cursed as he banged his fist on the ground. He released the man and he stood up, he noticed that he had a blood stain on his jacket but he had more important things to take care of. He reached into his pocket and he took out his phone, a few seconds later and he was talking to Rufus again. "Rufus, our worst fears have been confirmed…he's back, Sephiroth has returned. Cloud and Max are fighting him now, we found another agent who was seriously wounded by Sephiroth's attack, unfortunately he died a few moments ago. He said there was someone else with him, a woman, we're going to check it out. Reno out." Reno hung up on the phone and he put it back into his pocket.

"I guess this means we keep going, right?" Tifa asked as she stared at Reno.

"Cloud and Max are taking care of Sephiroth," Reno answered, "but we still have to find this woman the agent was talking about and how she's connected to Sephiroth."

"Hmmm…"Drogo thought for a minute, "a woman in a purple dress, somehow that sounds familiar," he then turns to Cait Sith, "how much further Cait Sith?"

"Not much further now!" Came the reply, Cait Sith continued along the path and everyone followed, they soon came out of the swamp and they entered what looked like an indoor field.

Sunny walked off ahead and she noticed the snow white flowers in the grass. "Wow!" She exclaimed as she bent down to pick up one of the flowers. "They're so pretty!" Sunny was about to pick one of the flowers up when Drogo stopped her.

"Don't touch that flower Sunny!" He warned as he grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her away from the flower.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know this area Sunny," Drogo answered, "even those flowers could be dangerous."

"Oh," Sunny replied, unable to see why Drogo would think that something as innocent looking as a flower could be dangerous. Nevertheless, she didn't try to pick one up again.

Pandora stared at Reno and Rude, "how much further?" She asked them.

"Not much further," Reno answered her as he carried on walking, "We just have to cross this field and go through another passageway and then we'll be at the centre of the Earth."

The group carried on walking through the field and they walked through another passageway and they were soon in a large circular cavern, a stream of a sea-green water like substance flowed down the walls and down the hole that lead even further down.

"The Life Stream," Rude muttered quietly.

"So this is the Life Stream?" Pandora asked staring in awe at the water like substance. "It's so beautiful."

"Oh yeah, it's beautiful," Reno agreed with her, "It's spirit energy that courses through the planet."

"Hmmm…" Pandora thought about it and she understood what Reno was saying.

"Most of the time it's underground," Reno continued to explain, "but there are odd places on the planet where it gushes up to the surface, Mideel is one of those places, also Aerith's church in Midgar is said to be the strongest geyser for the Life Stream."

"Hmmm," Rude cut in, "I've always wondered why flowers grow there."

"Hey!" Sunny yelled and she pointed towards the hole in the middle of the ground. "There's someone over there!"

Everyone looked in the direction that Sunny was pointing in and sure enough there was someone standing there. From that distance it was hard to tell whether the person was a man or woman until the person spoke. "Well," it was a woman's voice, it sounded deep and seductive and the group were immediately drawn to the sound of her voice. "It's a wondrous thing isn't it, the Life Stream?" The woman turned to face the group and they were shocked to see that it was a young woman, possibly in her late teens early 20s. She was fox like in appearance, she had fire red fur, golden yellow eyes that gleamed in the dim light of the cavern. She had jet black hair that came to just above her shoulders. She wore a purple Chinese style dress, black elbow length gloves and black knee length boots. She was grinning evilly at the group.

"Long time no see, Pandora."

* * *

Meanwhile back down the spiral pathway, Cloud and Max were still fighting Sephiroth. All that could be heard was the sound of clanging as metal clashed against metal. Cloud and Max put up a good fight but they couldn't deal any effective blows of their own.

"Why are you here Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded again as Sephiroth disappeared from view and he reappeared behind Cloud and Max.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's a secret Strife!" Sephiroth disappeared again and he reappeared in front of Cloud and he sent Cloud flying into the rear wall before Cloud could even react.

"Cloud!" Max yelled as he turned round just in time to see Cloud's back slam against the wall.

"Humph," Sephiroth scoffed as he kicked Max in the stomach and sent him flying back first into the same wall as Cloud, both men slid down the wall stunned. Sephiroth walked over to them and he pointed his sword at them both, "I'll have to kill you both if I tell you."

Cloud quickly grabbed his sword that was lying on the ground next to him, dived to his feet and clashed swords with Sephiroth. "I don't think so!" He spat at Sephiroth, "I've killed you three times before Sephiroth and I can do it again."

Cloud and Sephiroth leapt into the air and began exchanging blows at breath taking speed, Sephiroth grinned at Cloud, "Is that so?" He asked curiously as he traded a vicious blow with Cloud almost knocking him out of the air with the sheer force of the blow. "And after I'm finished with you, I'm gonna kill your little friend over there and then I'm gonna take over this pitiful world."

"You leave Max out of this!" Cloud yelled at Sephiroth as he managed to knock Sephiroth out of the air. Cloud brought his sword down underneath him in an attempt to strike Sephiroth from above, but the ex general was too quick for him and he teleported out of the way just in time as Cloud's sword sliced into the ground.

Sephiroth laughed, "Too slow Cloud, you must be losing your touch." Cloud pulled his sword out of the ground and he held it out in front of him. Sephiroth walked towards him and he knocked him back into the wall, Cloud's sword flew out of his hand and landed on the ground five feet away from him. Cloud tried to stand but Sephiroth slammed his foot on to Cloud's chest, he grinned as Cloud struggled to throw Sephiroth on him. "You're weak and pathetic and that's why you can never truly defeat me, and that is your biggest downfall." Sephiroth pointed his sword at Cloud's chest, he held it above his head ready to strike. Cloud closed his eyes as he waited for the final blow that would end his life. A few seconds later Cloud opened one eye and he saw that Sephiroth was still stood there holding his sword out in front of him. He was struggling with some kind of invisible force that was stopping him from striking Cloud. Cloud opened the other eye and he grinned as he saw Max standing behind Sephiroth he was in a state of deep concentration. The Masamune was a powerful weapon to take control of.

Sephiroth had sussed out who was controlling his sword he removed his foot from Cloud's chest and he turned to glare at Max. Max snapped out of his trance just in time as he was knocked flying, Max's back slammed against the far wall. "Aaaaahhhhh!" Max cried out as he slid down the wall and he landed flat on his back. He wreathed in pain as Sephiroth placed his foot on Max's stomach.

"You may have been able to save Strife, but you just gave up your own life." Sephiroth held his sword above his head preparing to strike Max. Max closed his eyes as he waited for the strike. Sephiroth brought his sword down but all he hit was solid ground, Max himself had disappeared from underneath him. Before Sephiroth could get his bearings another sword was pointed at his throat. Sephiroth turned round to see Max standing there behind him holding his sword.

"Sorry Sephiroth," Max replied mockingly, "too slow."

Sephiroth merely smiled at Max, "you're stronger than you look," he commented, "but you can't always rely on your powers to protect you." Sephiroth looked up again and he saw that Cloud was at Max's side also holding his sword at Sephiroth's throat.

"Looks like we win this one Sephiroth," Cloud spat at his former hero.

Sephiroth merely grunted in reply. With one powerful swing he brought his sword round to clash with both Max and Cloud's swords knocking them both off balance. "Very well, I'll leave, for now. My…accomplice will take care of those pitiful friends of yours, farewell." Sephiroth disappeared before Max and Cloud could react.

"An accomplice?" Max asked as he looked at Cloud.

Cloud merely shrugged in response, "Sephiroth normally worked alone, he never had an accomplice."

"He's not the real Sephiroth, don't forget," Max reminded him.

"I know," Cloud replied, "he's a necromical copy of the original, but still. Who's his accomplice?"

"Who knows," Max answered as he put his sword into his dimension as Cloud sheathed his sword. "But it can't be good."

"We should find the others," Cloud changed the subject.

Max nodded, "yeah, you're right," Max agreed, "let's go." Cloud and Max ran up the spiral path as quickly as they could without saying a word to each other.

* * *

Pandora, Sunny and Drogo stared in shock at the young woman who stood before them. "Scarlet…" Pandora stated hardly able to believe her eyes, her step sister, the very woman she had grown to despise over the years. The woman who they had defeated was there now grinning at her.

Scarlet's grin grew wider as she walked closer to Pandora and her friends. "We haven't seen each other for a whole year and that's all you can say," Scarlet replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Then again I shouldn't expect too much from you."

Pandora walked over to Scarlet determined to send the cruel and calculating woman back to the inner circles of Hell. As she walked closer to Scarlet the hatred she harboured for her former step sister bubbled and boiled inside her. Scarlet had caused so much pain and suffering not only for herself and Max but also to her friends and everyone on the world of Terra Firma. Pandora and Scarlet were just inches away from each other. Pandora outstretched her hand and slapped her old arch enemy across the face before Scarlet had a chance to react.

"Aaahhh!" Scarlet cried out as she fell to the ground upon impact, she was rubbing her cheek where Pandora had struck her.

Pandora stood over Scarlet, her hand was still raised. Her body was shaking violently and her scowl turned to a grin. "Damn that felt good!" Pandora yelled in pleasure, she was so pleased with herself that she didn't even see Scarlet kick out at her legs causing them to be swept out from underneath her. Pandora lost her balance and she fell to the ground as Scarlet was stood above her grinning.

"Looks like the tables have turned," she stated smugly not taking her eyes off Pandora. Pandora lay on the ground seething in anger before she suddenly leapt to her feet and swung at Scarlet.

"You bitch!" Pandora shouted at the top of her lungs as she performed a round house kick on Scarlet. However Scarlet was ready for her this time and she grabbed hold of Pandora's foot and swung her round causing her to go smashing into nearby boulders. Scarlet then threw her into the air aiming to smash Pandora's back into the far wall. Pandora was ready for this and she spread her wings out just in time and flapped quickly several times to decrease her speed and she hovered in mid air grinning smugly at Scarlet. "You're forgetting!" Pandora yelled down to her former step sister. "I'm a bat, I can fly!"

Scarlet produced a large fireball in her hand, "Not for long you can't!" She retorted as she lobed the fireball at Pandora but Pandora easily dodged it.

"Is that the best you can do?" Pandora mocked Scarlet from the air causing Scarlet to throw a fit. "Oh and daddy can't help you this time!"

"I don't need my father to take on the likes of you!" Scarlet produced two giant fireballs one in each hand and she threw them both at Pandora which she dodged with ease.

The two women were so busy fighting that they didn't even notice that the rest of the group were just stood there watching them. "I think it's time we left," Drogo said as he took hold of Sunny's hand and started edging towards the exit.

"But what about Pandora?" Reno asked as he stared at Pandora, then Scarlet then back to Pandora again trying to determine who was the better fighter.

"Oh trust me," Drogo answered, "thinks are about to get nasty." Just as Drogo said this a stray fireball went flying towards his head. Drogo ducked just in time as the fireball hit the wall behind him and fizzled out. "And…that's our cue to leave," Drogo continued as he broke into a run dragging Sunny behind him.

"Yeah," Reno agreed as he and the others started backing off and running to the exit. "Pandora can take care of herself." The rest of the group followed Drogo out of the room leaving Pandora and Scarlet alone.

Pandora lunged at Scarlet and she grabbed her by the collar, dug both her feet into Scarlet's stomach and pushed out causing Scarlet to plummet to the ground landing back first. Pandora dived and she thrust her hand out in front of her as she launched into Scarlet's stomach. Pandora started punching and kicking Scarlet in every spot that she could find. Scarlet dragged her feet in and kicked out at Pandora, she then quickly teleported behind her and she grabbed hold of Pandora and put her in a head lock. Scarlet grabbed hold of Pandora's hair and pulled it.

"Aaahhh!" Pandora cried out as she tried to throw Scarlet off her. "That's my hair you slut and you're still wearing my dress!"

"It looks better on me!" Scarlet shot back as she tugged harder on Pandora's hair. Pandora brought the heel of her spiked boot up and she dug it into Scarlet's leg causing her to cry out and release Pandora up on impact.

Pandora leapt on Scarlet and she launched into a powerful punch/kick combo even enchanting some of her moves with fire, ice, earth, lighting etc. All the hatred she felt for this woman was finally coming out and Pandora was thankful for the opportunity to kick the crap out of Scarlet. For what seemed like hours the two women fought, neither was willing to back down, and it wasn't long before their clothing was reduced to rags.

Meanwhile, Drogo and the others had just entered the swamp area of the cave when Cloud and Max ran up to them.

"Cloud, Max!" Tifa called out to them as she ran up and hugged Cloud, "Where's Sephiroth?"

Cloud hugged Tifa back, "he got away before we could finish him, he was still as vague as ever."

Tifa stared at Cloud, "he didn't tell you why he was here?"

Cloud was about to answer but Max got there first. "Like Cloud said he was very sketchy with the details, anyway…where's Pandora?"

"She's back there," Reno answered and he pointed in the direction that he and the others had come from. "Her and this other woman are fighting," he grinned at Max, "and I must say it's the most vicious fight I've ever seen."

"Right, I'm going down there!" Max ran off in the direction that Reno had pointed in. Tifa let go of Cloud and she stared at Max.

"Wait Max!" She called out after him, Max wasn't listening he was already halfway down the tunnel and five minutes later he entered the final chamber that led to the centre of the earth where he saw Pandora fighting another woman.

Pandora grabbed hold of Scarlet and swung her round and round slamming her into every wall, boulder and stalagmite in her path. She eventually threw Scarlet causing her to go flying into the far wall and hit her head. Pandora grabbed hold of Scarlet again and she began smashing her head against the wall repeatedly.

"Pandora!" Max yelled as he started to run up to her. Scarlet's eyes snapped open as she recognised the voice and she teleported herself just before Pandora was about to smash her head into the wall again.

"I must…admit…" Scarlet's voice spoke behind Pandora, she turned round to find Scarlet standing behind her semi-conscious, her dress had been reduced to rags and she was panting. "…you're stronger…than…the last time…we met…" She then turned round as she noticed Max standing behind her, she grinned at her cousin. "And Max…" She continued, "I see you and your spiky haired friend…have defeated…Sephiroth…"

"Scarlet," Max spat the word out like a bitter poison as he stared face to face with his cousin, the woman who had tried to have him killed. The woman who had made his life a living hell. "Why are you here?"

"I'm not about to tell you!" Scarlet shot back not taking her eyes off Max, but you'll find out soon enough. I'll leave for now, but you haven't heard the last of me…oh, my father sends his love."

"Well you can tell Balthazar," Max retorted glaring daggers at Scarlet, "that he'd better enjoy his new life while he can, because I'm gonna kill him again."

"I'm not your messenger girl!" Scarlet yelled, "Farewell!" Scarlet disappeared in a flash of purple light. Max ran over to Pandora who was still kneeling on the ground near where Scarlet was a few moments ago, yet to recover from her blood lust.

"Pandora!" Max called out her name again and he grabbed hold of her, Pandora looked up at him and she smiled.

"Max," she said his name and Max helped her to her feet. "Where are the others?"

"They're further up the passage," he told Pandora and he couldn't help but grin at her, "it seems that your fight with Scarlet scared them off."

Pandora blushed, "oh…" she replied feeling sheepish. "Sorry…"

"Hey!" Max reassured her, "Scarlet deserved it, "I'm just sorry I missed most of it." Pandora laughed and she embraced Max, he then noticed the state of her clothes for the first time. "Need I ask what happened to your clothes…"

Pandora smiled and she shook her head, "it's best you don't know."

"Ah ha, you must be freezing." Max wrapped his arms tighter round Pandora to keep her warm.

"It's a good job I got you to put a spare coat into your dimension," she told Max, he raised one hand into the air and a few seconds he was holding a thick, woolly coat. He wrapped it round Pandora and he smiled at her.

"Come on," Max took her hand and he led her back up the path.

"Where's Sephiroth?" Pandora asked Max as they continued walking.

"He got away," Max answered her, "but I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of him, or Scarlet."

"But why are they here?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out and we'll put a stop to whatever they're planning."

Max and Pandora continued up the path in silence, a few minutes later and they caught up with the others. Max and Pandora walked up to the group. "What do we do now?" Max asked.

Reno grabbed the phone from his pocket and called Rufus. "Boss, it's me again. Sephiroth got away and so did the woman that Pandora was fighting. But at least we know her name now, she's called Scarlet. No, we still don't know why they were here. We're heading back to the Sierra now to debrief. Reno out." Reno put his phone back into his pocket and he turned to face the group. "Rufus knows what happened, he's looking into it now."

"Meanwhile, we'll get back to the Sierra and de-brief everyone," Cloud added, "let's get out of here." Cloud took the lead and everyone made their way out of the Northern Cave and back on to the Sierra, the group met everyone on the bridge. Angel ran up to them.

"So how did it go?" Angel asked them.

"We'll tell you all about it in the morning," Cloud answered as he yawned. "Right now we're feeling tired. Hey Cid?" Cloud turned to the pilot.

"Yeah," Cid answered in his gruff voice.

"Get us out of here."

"Where to?"

"I don't care!" Cloud yelled, "As long as it's away from here!"

"Alright!" Cid shot back as he took over the controls, "Keep your hair on, I was only asking!"

"Sorry," Cloud apologised, "it's just…seeing Sephiroth again…"

Everyone looked up as they heard the name Sephiroth mentioned. "Sephiroth?!" They all yelled at once.

"I said I'd talk about it in the morning," Cloud reminded them. "Cid, can you take us back to WRO?"

"Sure," Cid replied, "WRO it is, everyone buckle up, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

The Sierra took off again and made it's way slowly to the WRO Headquarters, Cid ignored Max's attempts to try and upgrade the Sierra.

"I'm telling you Cid if you just let me…"

"I already told you no!" Cid yelled at Max, "Can't you get it through your friggin skull? I don't want you touching anything on this damn airship, you understand!"

"Yes…" Max sighed as he tried to resist the urge not to tinker with anything. "I understand."

Cloud tried hard not to laugh, he left the bridge and made his way to his room and he opened the door. He walked over to the bed and he found that Tifa was already asleep. He sat down on the bed, kicked off his boots and he gently stroked her hair before he flopped down on the bed where he was and fell asleep without bothering to get changed or to get under the covers.

* * *

**Chapter 13 is finally complete, this one took me a while to write. Then again I'm back at uni now so I'm even more busy than I was before. Don't worry though, I will get round to writing chapter 14. Sorry the Cloud, Max and Sephiroth battle wasn't nearly as long as the Pandora/Scarlet battle. It's just that I wanted Pandora to give her a good old fashioned butt whopping. Chapter 14 will be coming soon.**


	14. Cloud vs Max

**Chapter 14: Cloud Vs Max**

After flying through the night, the Sierra had landed outside WRO HQ just as it was approaching sunrise. Cloud began to stir as sunlight peeped in through the blinds of the window of his and Tifa's room. Cloud slowly opened his eyes and he saw that he was still fully clothed and lying on top of the bed covers. He looked to his right and he saw that Tifa was still asleep. He slid softly off the bed so as not to wake her and he walked over to the window and looked out to see a large building. They were at WRO, Cloud walked back over to the bed and with his hand he gently nudged Tifa.

"Tifa," he whispered in her ear. "It's time to get up, we're here."

Tifa moaned as she stirred, "huh…what?"

"We're at WRO HQ," Cloud said again as Tifa slowly came round.

Tifa sat up and she rubbed her eyes as she looked blearily around the room. "What time is it?" She asked Cloud.

Cloud looked at his watch, "It's seven o clock," he replied as Tifa threw the covers off her and she crawled out of bed and she began to get changed. "Cid said he'd wake everyone up when we got here." Cloud and Tifa listened to the sound of loud knocking and shouting from the corridor.

"Alright! Rise and shine you S.O.B.s! We're at WRO HQ! So get your scrawny asses out of bed!"

Cloud shook his head but he couldn't help but smile, "And cue the wake up call," he stated as Tifa laughed.

"I guess we should make our way to the bridge before Cid throws a fit," Tifa said to Cloud.

Cloud nodded, "you're right," Cloud agreed, "the sooner we can de-brief everyone and talk to Rufus, the sooner we can sort this out and get back to our lives."

Cloud opened the bedroom door and he and Tifa walked down the passage way to the bridge where Cid was waiting for them. Cid turned to face them and grinned. "Well I'm glad you two managed to haul your asses out of bed," he commented. "We just need to wait for the rest of those lazy bastards."

Ten minutes later and everyone was stood in the bridge. "Well it's about time you lazy S.O.B.s got here!" Cid yelled as he glared at everyone.

Cloud merely laughed, "Come on, let's get going." Everyone left the Sierra and they entered the lobby of the WRO HQ.

"Wait here guys," Reno said to the group, I'll just let Rufus and Reeve know that we're here and…" Reno stopped as he heard someone call his name.

"Reno!" Reno turned round to see a young woman in her mid 20s run towards him.

"Emma!" Reno called out the woman's name and he held his arms out ready to catch Emma. As soon as Emma had reached him she outstretched her hand and she slapped Reno hard across the face. "Ouch!" Reno cried out as he held the area of his face that Emma had hit. "What was that for?"

Emma glared at Reno, "That was for missing our date last night!" She yelled as she jabbed her finger into to Reno's chest.

Drogo laughed at this, "Busted!" He shouted jokingly.

Reno glared at Drogo for a few seconds before turning his attention to Emma, he gave her a blank stare. "Our…date…"

Emma nodded, "Yes!" She shouted not caring that everyone else in the lobby could hear her. "Our date!"

"Oh," Reno replied then realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh…oh I'm so sorry."

"How could you forget about our date?!" Emma demanded, she glared at Reno with accusing eyes.

"But babe," Reno was quick to defend himself, "something came up, it was unavoidable."

"It was your night off!"

"It was an emergency," Reno continued to explain while he was still rubbing his cheek. "I couldn't exactly have turned round to Rufus and say sorry boss but I can't go on this mission because I promised that I'd go on a date with my girlfriend."

Emma gritted her teeth at Reno's attitude towards the situation, "what could've been so important that you missed our date?"

"How about the fate of the world," Reno answered.

"I'm serious Reno!" Emma snapped at him, "But you don't seem to care as much about our relationship as I do!" Emma started to storm off.

"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Reno ran after Emma and he took hold of her hand, but she snatched it away.

"Get off me Reno!"

Reno ran in front of Emma and she stopped storming off. "Alright look," Reno explained to Emma and he took hold of her hand again, she didn't snatch it away this time. "I'm sorry I missed our date, but we've got a bit of a situation here that's not gonna go away overnight. Do you understand?"

Emma nodded, "I guess so, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that you missed our date."

"I know," Reno replied, "but when all this is over, I promise you we'll go on that date."

Emma's eyes lit up, "Really?" She asked, "you mean that?"

Reno nodded, "yeah, it's an iron plaque promise."

Emma gave Reno a sceptical stare, "you better keep your promise." With that Emma walked off leaving Reno alone. He returned to the group.

"Need I ask what that was all about?" Cloud asked Reno.

"It's best you don't know," Reno replied, "anyway," Reno added quickly changing the subject, "Rufus knows we're here and he's in the meeting room, it's on the third floor, come on."

Reno walked through lobby to the elevator and some stairs. Half the group went up the stairs and the other half went in the elevator. Ten minutes later and everyone was in the meeting room and Reno explained the situation to Rufus.

Rufus stayed silent for a while as he tried to take it all on board, eventually he spoke. "So Sephiroth was at the Northern Cave."

Reno nodded, "Yeah, Cloud and Max fought him, bur he got away before they could finish him."

"And there was a Kitsune woman there as well," he looked at Max as he said this.

"Scarlet, yeah," Max replied his voice was filled with bitter hatred.

"You seem to know her well," Rufus stated not taking his eyes off Max.

"She was my sadistic psycho bitch for a cousin!" Max yelled, "She shouldn't even be here!"

"Anyway," Cait Sith quickly changed the subject and Max calmed down again, "we found her at the passage way leading to the Centre of the Earth, she was looking at the Life Stream."

"Hmmm…" Reeve thought about this, "the Northern Cave is one of the places where the Life Stream is strongest. Thank you Cait Sith."

"Anytime Reeve."

"After I defeated her," Pandora stated staring at the group, "she said that she'd leave for now and that Max and Cloud had defeated Sephiroth."

"Yeah, and Sephiroth said that his accomplice would take care of our friends," Cloud added, "I thought that was strange, as Sephiroth usually worked alone."

"So Sephiroth has an accomplice," Cid cut in.

"Or maybe several accomplices," Lance chipped in, "I mean who knows how many of them are out there."

"I think Balthazar might be back as well," Max replied.

Nightshade stared at Max his eyes were wide with shock, "Balthazar, are you sure?"

Max nodded, "before Scarlet left she said that Balthazar sends his love," Max answered, he cringed at the thought of both Scarlet and Balthazar being back from the dead.

"And we still don't know who's bringing them all back," Tifa added looking confused. "Sephiroth nor Scarlet mentioned their master."

"So what's our next plan of action?" Barret asked as he banged his metal arm on the table.

"What else can we do?" Sunny asked in answer to Barret's question, "we don't even know who's been brining all these people back to life."

"But shouldn't we find out?" Barret questioned and he banged his metal arm on the table again.

"Sunny's right," Drogo replied agreeing with Sunny, "we don't even know where to start."

"But if we don't do something," Barret argued, "who knows what they'll do next time."

"Barret I can understand where you're coming from," Cloud told Barret, "but there's nothing we can do about it now."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Rufus cut in, "but Cloud is right, you've done everything you could for now."

"Why don't we take a break?" Tifa suggested kindly, "it'll help clear our heads and then we can look at the situation with fresh eyes."

"And my agents will let me know if anything else out of the ordinary happens and in turn I'll let you know," Rufus added helpfully.

"Alright," Cloud ordered, "we'll take a break for a while, we may as well all stay here because you never know what might happen. Rufus will let us know if anything else happens."

"Fine," Rufus stated although he wasn't too happy about a large group of people staying at the WRO but he knew that he had no choice. "As long as you don't cause any trouble, we're very busy here, meeting dismissed."

Everyone walked out of the room except for Max who walked over to Reeve. "Hey Reeve?" Max got the man's attention.

Reeve turned round and smiled at Max, "yes Max?" He asked politely.

"I was wondering if you had a chance to look at the teleportation devices."

"Yes I have as a matter of fact," Reeve replied, "I must say I was amazed by the technology. I'm still figuring out how they work, maybe you could give me a hand."

Max nodded, "sure."

"Of course, you don't have to help right now if you're busy. My workshop is in the basement if you want to give me a hand."

Max smiled at Reeve, "thanks Reeve," he said gratefully.

"Anytime," Reeve and Max walked out of the meeting room. Reeve entered the elevator to go down to the basement. Max walked down the corridor, Cloud was leaning against the wall.

"Hey Max," Cloud called out to him as Max walked passed him.

Max turned around and saw Cloud, "oh hey Cloud," Max responded as Cloud leant off the wall and walked over to him.

"I was wondering if I could ask you something."

Max nodded, "sure, what is it?"

"Well," Cloud started as they both walked down the corridor, "I've seen you in battle three times now and your skills are just…wow…"

Max laughed, "well I have been training a lot."

"And it shows too," Cloud complimented. "So I was wondering if I could challenge you to a fight."

Max stared at Cloud, "you want to fight me?" He asked not taking his eyes off Cloud.

Cloud nodded, "I just wanted to see who's more skilled out of the two of us."

Max thought for a bit then he nodded, "ok, I accept your challenge, but it won't be fair if I used my psychic powers in the fight."

"No no…" Cloud quickly cut in, "then it wouldn't be a real challenge because you're not using all of your abilities."

Max stared at Cloud, "you do know that with my psychic abilities I can determine what your next move is going to be before you even carry it out?"

"I know," Cloud answered, "but that's what makes it challenging," Cloud then looks around him. "I don't think Rufus would be too pleased if we were fighting in the WRO HQ."

"I know a place we can go." Before Cloud could say anything Max closed his eyes and focused and the two of them disappeared. Cloud opened his eyes to find himself in a blank room.

"What is this place?" Cloud asked.

"This is my dimension," Max answered, Cloud turned round to see Max standing behind him.

"You're dimension?" Cloud questioned not taking his eyes off Max.

Max nodded, "yeah, this is where I store anything that maybe of value, like my weapons or any item that I may need. Also it's a good place to train without any interruptions and without injuring yourself or anyone else."

Cloud continued to look round, "wow, pretty convenient."

"Yeah," Max agreed, he held his hand out and his sword appeared in his hand and he held it out in front of him. "shall we?"

Cloud took his sword from off his back and he held it out in front of him. "Yeah, let's do this."

Cloud charged at Max his sword was thrust out in front of him ready to strike Max. Max quickly teleported and disappeared out of sight. Cloud stopped in his tracks and looked around him with a confused expression on his face. "Huh?" Cloud asked himself, "where did he go?" Cloud wasn't even aware of what was happening until he swung his sword upwards and parried another sword coming down on him from above, Max back flipped in the air and he landed on the ground in front of Cloud. "How did you do that?"

Max grinned, "I'm psychic remember," he answered not taking his eyes off Cloud, "I can read my opponent's mind to determine what they're going to do next, I can teleport out of the way of my opponent's attack and I can appear anywhere and catch them off guard." At these words he lunged forwards at top speed almost catching Cloud off guard but Cloud easily blocked the attack. "Also," Max added as he talked over the clanging of metal as the two swords clashed against each other. "This is my dimension, so I can do anything I want within it." Max used his telekinetic powers to repel Cloud and send him flying into a far wall. Max then dropped his sword blade first into the ground but instead of hitting the ground the sword disappeared from sight. Max stood still and patiently waited for the outcome.

Cloud slowly staggered to his feet looking dazed he saw Max just standing there not making a move, he also say that Max had no weapon. "You got rid of your weapon?" Cloud asked still staring at Max, Max merely grinned in response as if to say don't let your guard down just yet. Cloud swung his sword round and parried just in time as a sword appeared behind him and attempted to strike him before disappearing and reappearing in the opposite direction. The sword kept disappearing and reappearing in different directions as though it had a mind of its own, and each time Cloud successfully parried the sword. After a few seconds the sword disappeared and re-materialised in Max's hand. Max leapt into the air and Cloud followed suit and they clashed swords in the air both moving with breath taking speed and displaying an amazing amount of skill, both looking for an opening so they can strike their opponent. Cloud finally found an opening, with his next strike Cloud clashed his sword against Max's with a little more strength than usual causing Max to be sent flying backwards. Cloud's sword glowed with energy.

"Blade Beam!" Cloud yelled as he slashed down with his sword releasing the energy in Max's general direction. Max of course had anticipated this having read Cloud's mind before being knocked backwards and he teleported just in time as the energy beam hit the empty space where Max was a few seconds ago and diffused. A dark energy ball zoomed towards Cloud's back. Cloud turned just in time and he deflected it with his sword causing the energy ball to fly back in the direction it came from and it hit the far wall and fizzled out. Max appeared in front of Cloud a few seconds later, his sword was glowing with a dark aura. He had enchanted his sword with dark energy.

"Hell's Blade!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs. The dark energy glowed even more vividly and ignited with dark fire. Max disappeared in a flash of dark energy and he reappeared behind Cloud and was preparing to drive the sword which was now glowing with dark fire into Cloud's back, however Cloud just about parried it. Max then warped in all directions aiming to dig the sword of dark fire into different parts of Cloud's body but Cloud parried against each strike with ease. Cloud and Max landed safely on the ground, they were both panting a little the dark energy in Max's sword fizzled out and disappeared. "Damn your fast," Max stated as he panted trying to get his breath back.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he too was in the process of getting his breath back. "That was a powerful move, I could barely block it at first but it got easier with time."

Max grinned, "Yeah, it's a technique I taught myself to use whenever I enchanted my sword with dark energy. Of course it takes up quite a bit of my energy to use."

"I see," Cloud thought about this for a while. "You ready to go again?"

Max nodded, "yeah." Max and Cloud paced round slowly in circles before they lunged at each other again and the fight resumed neither warrior was letting their guard down not even for a second. Max focused hard and read Cloud's mind. _"Ok," _Max said to himself while thinking up of a strategy. _"Cloud's gonna perform a braver attack so I better duck down and swing upwards to parry as he brings his sword down."_

Max ducked down and held his sword ready to strike as Cloud leapt into the air and brought his sword behind him. The tip of Cloud's sword glowed as he brought his sword back over his head. "Braver!" Cloud yelled at the top of his lungs. Max rose up and swung his sword upwards as Cloud brought his sword down and there was an almighty clang as the two swords clashed against each other at such a force that it knocked both Max and Cloud back. Max skidded back a few paces before he spread his feet out to balance himself and Cloud back flipped in the air and he landed safely on the ground. Cloud stared at Max, "you knew I was going to do that?" He asked, he wasn't angry, rather he was intrigued.

"I'm psychic remember," Max said again in an amusing tone. "Being psychic is a curse as well as blessing. In battle it's useful as it enables you to see what your opponent's next move is, or even several moves in succession if the telepathy is powerful enough and you can plan your next move. In interrogation situations telepathy allows you to gather useful information from a prisoner without them even opening their mouths and you're more likely to get the truth."

"How's it a curse?" Cloud asked.

Max laughed as he continued with his explanation. "In a normal everyday situation where it has no particular use. You could accidentally end up in the no go areas of a person's mind, which is why telepathy isn't an ability to be taken lightly."

Cloud thought about this and he understood what Max was saying, psychic abilities in general especially the more advanced ones took up quite a bit of mental energy and should be used sparingly. Cloud and Max clashed swords again in the same rapid but steady rhythm, both Max and Cloud exchanged blows at such speed and strength that would've been deadly if they ever struck an opponent. Luckily Max and Cloud were at the same skill level and their main aim wasn't to hurt or kill each other. Max and Cloud fought on in silence each warrior was in a deep level of concentration, they were both acting like they were in a real battle situation neither one showing fatigue. Cloud brought his sword down to clash against Max's sword only to find that his sword was hitting thin air. A few seconds later Cloud could feel a metal blade rubbing against his neck. He turned round to see Max standing behind him hold his sword to Cloud's throat. Max grinned at Cloud, "not bad," he observed not removing his sword. "But if this was a real fight, you'd be dead now." Max brought his sword away from Cloud's neck and he de-materialised it. Cloud sheathed his sword and he turned to face Max who was still grinning at him.

"You're skilled in battle," Cloud remarked, "I'll give you that."

Max bowed his head slightly, "thanks, you also have skill."

"Well I have been training over the years," Cloud told Max.

"Same here," Max stated.

"I think we should call it a day," Cloud said as he noticed his fatigue for the first time.

Max nodded he was also starting to feel exhausted from battle. "Yeah, until next time maybe."

Cloud laughed, "maybe, I'll have to think about that."

Max also laughed. "We better get back, everyone might wonder where we've got to." Max closed his eyes again and focused, and he and Cloud were back in the WRO HQ again.

"That was interesting," Cloud stated as he smiled at Max.

Max nodded he was about to respond when he heard voices yelling outside.

"Hey come on! I didn't mean it!"

"What do you mean you didn't mean it?!"

Max and Cloud walked over to the window and they saw Yuffie running round and round in the yard looking shit scared as Angel chased after her brandishing her blades. Max and Cloud ran down the stairs and they ended up in the grounds, Angel was still chasing Yuffie.

"All I said was that dress didn't suit you!"

"You take that back!"

Yuffie screamed as Angel began to catch up with her and she swung her blades round more frantically. Max and Cloud saw Lance and Cid stood there with a look of amusement on their faces.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked them.

"Yuffie was insulting Angel's clothing choices," Lance answered, "of course with Yuffie already being on thin ice for insulting Angel's accent last time, Angel didn't take it too well and…you can see the result."

"Shouldn't we help her?" Max asked as he stared at Lance and Cid.

"Are you kidding?" Lance replied quickly, he wasn't taking his eyes off the scene that was taking place in front of him. "Yuffie incurred Angel's wrath, she has to live with consequences."

"And it's been amusing us," Cid added not bothering to hide his laughter at Yuffie's misfortune. "It's good to see that someone's finally putting that brat in her place!"

"Cid!" Yuffie yelled desperately, "please help me!"

"Like Hell I will!" Cid retorted, "you made your bloody bed, you lie in it!"

"Cloud, please!" Yuffie turned her attention to Cloud.

Cloud shook his head, "Sorry Yuffie, whatever you've gotten yourself into keep me out of it!"

"Oh thanks a lot Cloud!" Yuffie dodged out of the way just in time as Angel swung her blade round just narrowly missing Yuffie's face.

"Stay still!" Angel yelled at Yuffie as she continued to chase Yuffie. "You're just making it worse!"

Max, Cloud, Lance and Cid continued to watch and laugh as Yuffie continued to get chased by Angel. Cid was almost on the floor laughing his head off. "Oh man…" he said as he was recovering from laughing so hard. "I haven't had this much fun in years. Well as much as I love to see Yuffie getting her ass handed to her I have to see to the Sierra.

"Cid," Max began but Cid immediately cut him off.

"I stand by what I said before Max, the answer is still no! Why can't you get it through that bloody skull of yours? Stop asking me!" Cid stormed off before Max could respond.

"Face it Max," Cloud told Max, "Cid won't even let any of the technicians touch the Sierra. What makes you think you stand a chance of convincing him otherwise?"

"Because I'm probably more skilled than all those technicians put together."

"I know," Cloud agreed with him, "Cid just gets a little protective when it comes to the Sierra."

Max sighed, he knew that Cloud was right, he wouldn't stand a chance of convincing Cid to let him upgrade the Sierra anytime soon. "It's his loss I suppose, anyway, I'm gonna go and find Pandora."

Cloud nodded, "ok," he replied, "I better get going as well, Tifa's probably wondering where I am."

After saying their hasty goodbyes Max and Cloud went their own separate ways. Max found Pandora wondering the grounds, he ran up to her. "Pandora!" Max called out her name as he caught up with her.

Pandora turned round and she smiled when she saw Max, "Max," she replied, "where were you? I've been looking all over for you."

Max laughed ruefully and he ran his hand through his unruly hair. "Cloud wanted to challenge me to a fight so we were in my dimension. I guess we lost track of the time." Pandora placed her hands on her hips and scowled at Max. "I'm sorry Pandora, am I forgiven?"

Pandora continued to scowl at him but then it turned into a smile, she hugged Max and she kissed him on the lips. "You're forgiven," she replied playfully, Max smiled at her and they walked hand in hand through the grounds. It was now getting on for late afternoon early evening. "Hey, Kalm's not that far away from here," she stated as she saw the town in the distance.

"You want to go?" Max asked her.

Pandora thought about this, "well it would be nice, I haven't had a chance to see the whole town, and I'm sure they've repaired the damage by now."

"Ok," Max agreed, "if you want to go to Kalm, then that's where we'll go." Pandora grabbed Max by the waist, she spread out her wings and took off carrying Max below her. Ten minutes later and they landed in Kalm, Pandora released Max and a few seconds later she landed herself and folded her wings. Max looked to his left, "I guess this area of town is still in the process of being rebuilt," he stated. Pandora took hold of his hand and they were about to walk off when three men wearing WRO uniforms approached them.

"Excuse me sir, miss," one of the men spoke, "you're in a restricted area, I suggest you move along." Pandora showed the man her WRO badge, he looked at the badge in Pandora's hand. "Oh, sorry miss, I didn't know you were with the WRO, in that case you're free to go." He then looked at Max, "but I'm afraid you'll have to leave the area sir."

"That's ok," Pandora told the man, "he's with me, we just haven't got round to getting him a WRO badge yet."

The man nodded to show that he understood, "oh, well if he's with you then that's fine, but try not to get in the way of the reconstruction work. After that battle that happened here a couple of nights ago, we've had to close off this area to civilians."

Max ruffled his hair and gave the man a remorseful look, "sorry about that, it was partly my fault."

The man took a closer look at Max, "Hey!" He exclaimed, "you're Max aren't you?"

Max nodded, "yeah."

"Our boss has told us all about you, apparently you and your friends gave Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz a run for their money."

Max grinned, "we've had a lot of practice," he replied, "but I don't think we've heard the last of them."

The man's smile faded, "you don't think they'd come back again do you?"

"Most likely," Max answered, "it only takes one bone to bring a necromical copy back to life."

"I hope they don't come back to Kalm again, we're still in the process of re-building the area."

"Don't worry," Max reassured the man, "if they know what's good for them they won't show their faces for a while."

The man heaved a huge sigh of relief, "well that's a relief, anyway you two have a nice evening." With that the three men left leaving Max and Pandora alone.

Max smiled at Pandora, "it's a good thing you had that WRO badge."

Pandora smiled back, "yeah, we should think about getting you one."

"Yeah, no restrictions."

"Do you think Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz will come back?" Pandora asked Max.

Max nodded, "we haven't heard the last of them, and Scarlet and Sephiroth too, don't worry," Max stroked the side of Pandora's face to reassure her, "Rufus will let us know if there are any problems."

"I guess you're right," Pandora replied, "let's enjoy tonight while we can." Max and Pandora continued to walk round Kalm as the sky became darker the lights flickered and switched on. The town was quite beautiful at night. Eventually they ended up at the top of the clock tower where Vincent was currently residing nowadays. Pandora and Max were sat on the roof of the clock tower looking at the night sky. "It's so beautiful," Pandora commented, "I can't remember the last time we saw stars in the sky."

"Yeah," Max agreed, Pandora rested her head in Max's chest and he stroked Pandora's long hair. "it's good to rest every once in a while." Pandora sighed, Max looked down at her, "what's wrong?"

"Don't you miss home?" Pandora asked him.

Max just stared at Pandora, "of course I do, why do you ask?"

"I guess I'm just feeling a little homesick."

"Pandora, we all miss home. You, me, Drogo, Sunny, Lance, Angel, Nightshade, hell even Isis. But, there's no way we can get home at the moment, Reeve is still looking into fixing the teleportation devices. I'd fix them myself, but I don't have time right now what with everything that's going on."

"I know."

"Scarlet has returned, which means that Balthazar has no doubt come back as well, and we should know more than anyone what they're capable of. We're heroes, we go where we're needed and right now, this world needs us. I don't want Scarlet, Balthazar or anyone else to take away what these people have tried so hard to rebuild over the passed few years since the meteor incident."

Pandora sighed again, she knew that Max was right, Cloud and the others had been so good to them, the least they could do was return the favour. "You're right Max," she stated, "as usual."

Max smiled, "yeah, I know I am." He bent his head down and he kissed Pandora, Pandora wrapped her arms round Max's neck as the two kissed long into the night. They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity to them. The sun rose the next morning and shone directly into Max's eyes. Max moaned as he slowly opened his eyes, he had to squint so he wouldn't get the full glare of the sun. _"Have we been here all night?" _He asked himself, he looked to his left to find see Pandora leaning her head on his chest fast asleep. Max sat still not daring to disturb Pandora, a few moments later she woke up.

"Uhhh…" She moaned as she began to stir.

Max smiled at her, "morning," he said cheerfully.

Pandora sat up, "it's morning?"

Max nodded, "yep."

"You mean, we've been here all night?"

Max nodded again, "yeah."

"Why didn't you wake me?" She demanded glaring at Max.

"You were sleeping so peacefully," Max answered, "I didn't want to disturb you."

Pandora leapt to her feet, "we better start heading back," she said urgently, "everyone will wonder where…" The rest of her words were muffled as Max stood up and he quickly kissed her on the lips. Pandora fell into it for a few seconds then she pushed him away. "I mean it Max, we have to head back."

Max nodded, "yeah, I guess you're right, let's get going." Pandora and Max flew back to Kalm, ten minutes later and they were back in the grounds of WRO HQ. They made their way back to the entrance where they saw Reno leaning against the wall with an amused expression on his face.

"Well, well, looks like you guys had fun last night."

"Reno," Max stated he wasn't surprised that the Turk was stood there.

Reno leant off the wall and he jumped off the step and he stood in front of Max and Pandora, "you guys didn't get up to anything while you were out did you?" Pandora and Max gave him an evil glare, Reno laughed, "hey relax guys, I was just joking, anyway everyone was worried about you guys, in fact we were about to send a search party."

"Why? What's wrong?" Max asked not taking his eyes off the Turk.

Reno's expression changed to a more serious one. "Everyone's in the meeting room," he told them gravely, "there's been a problem."

* * *

**Chapter 14 is finally complete yay! This was more of a relaxing chapter, though I use the term loosely. You want to know what happens next, find out in chapter 15 which will be coming up as soon as I have a spare moment to type it up. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. I do however own characters I created myself. **


	15. Return to Nibelheim

**Chapter 15: Return to Nibelheim**

Max and Pandora stared at Reno and for sometime the three were stood there staring at each other. Eventually Max broke the awkward silence. "What kind of problem?"

Reno shrugged in response, "I don't know, Rufus hasn't told anyone yet, he said he wanted to wait until everyone was present and that includes you two now come on!" Reno ran back up the steps and he entered the building Max and Pandora followed him without a word and all three of them walking into the meeting room.

"There you are!" Barret yelled as he walked over to Max and Pandora, "where've you been?"

Pandora grinned, "just into town," she answered calmly.

"You were out all night?"

"I guess we lost track of the time."

"Lost track of the time my ass!" Cid cut in, "how long were you planning on keeping us waiting?!"

Max glared at Cid, "does it matter?" He asked, "we're here now."

Cid was about to answer but Rufus interrupted. "Touching though this little reunion is," he said in his usual manner, "I called this meeting for a reason, now will you two kindly sit down so we can get this over with." Max, Pandora and Barret walked over to the table in silence and they sat down in their seats. Satisfied Rufus started the meeting. "Now, as you already know, I have agents posted all over the world to make sure everything is running smoothly and that we don't have anymore disasters. Some of my agents contacted me yesterday to say that there was a problem."

Cid banged his fist on the table irritably, "just cut to the damn chase will ya!" Cid yelled impatiently.

Rufus glared at Cid, "I was just getting there if you'll give me a chance!" Rufus snapped at the pilot. "Now where was I? Oh yes, my agents told me that the Mako Reactor in Mount Nibel has been reactivated."

There was a stunned silence as everyone stared at Rufus in shock, not daring to believe it. It was Tifa who broke the silence. "I thought the area was sealed off," she said not taking her eyes off Rufus.

"It was sealed off," Rufus replied, "in fact the Nibelheim reactor was the first one we closed, mainly because of its history, which I regret to say wasn't a good one."

Cloud sighed, "Nibelheim…" Cloud didn't have to say anymore, all his friends knew what Cloud was thinking about. Sephiroth going insane, Jenova, the fire and all the experiments he had to endure at the hands of Hojo. "Why Nibelheim? Why now?"

"At this moment in time, I'm not sure," Rufus answered, "but it might have something to do with the abundant supply of Mako within the mountains."

"Mako?" Drogo asked curiously, "As in, spirit energy?"

Tifa nodded, "you remember when we saw the Life Stream in the Northern Cave?" She questioned Drogo. Drogo nodded, "it's unrefined Mako, and Mount Nibel is covered in it."

"Indeed," Rufus agreed with Tifa, "that was the reason why the reactor was built there in the first place."

"But Jenova isn't there anymore," Cloud commented, "and as far as I know we destroyed her. What else could possibly be of value?"

"A lot of research was carried out in Nibelheim," Reeve answered, "more specifically the Shinra Mansion and the reactor. The reactor in Mount Nibel was among the first to be built."

"Interesting though this history is," Lance cut in, "but why is it active when it's supposed to be closed down?"

"That's what you're going to find out," Rufus answered, "I need you all to go the reactor in Mount Nibel, to find out what's going on and put a stop to it."

Cloud sighed, "oh joy, as if I didn't have enough nightmares about that place, I have to return there again."

"It'll be ok Cloud," Tifa took hold of Cloud's hand and she gave him a reassuring look, "you won't be alone this time."

"Yeah," Barret agreed with Tifa, "we've got your back."

"You guys have always got my back," Cloud replied, he couldn't help but smile. "You're right, this is a fear I have to face."

"So I guess this means we'll be going back to Nibelheim?" Max asked head a slightly amused expression as he remembered the hole he had made when he crash landed into the Shinra mansion when he was first teleported to this world.

Cloud nodded, "yeah," he answered, he wasn't happy with the whole idea of returning to Nibelheim but he knew that they had to if they were to put a stop to whoever was responsible for all of this. "let's just get this over with."

"Right," Rufus responded, "make your way to Nibelheim, an agent will meet you there and give you the full briefing. Reno, Rude, I still want you two to keep in touch with me if anything happens."

"Yes sir," Reno and Rude replied in perfect unison.

"Good, I want everyone to report back here after you've sorted out everything in Nibelheim," Rufus continued, "so we can plan our next move, meeting adjourned."

Everyone got up from their seats and filed out of the meeting room, ten minutes later and everyone was on the Sierra which was making its way to Nibelheim. Cloud was stood on the bridge looking out of the window at the scenery. He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, he remembered all too well what happened all those years ago in Nibelheim and that anything that involved Nibelheim in anyway couldn't be good. Cloud was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Tifa come up behind him.

"Gil for your thoughts," she said suddenly causing Cloud to nearly leap out of his skin. He turned round quickly to see Tifa stood behind him.

"Tifa," he spoke up still in shock. "I didn't hear you coming."

Tifa stared intensively at Cloud, "are you thinking about Nibelheim?" She asked curiously.

Cloud sighed, "I can't stop thinking about it," Cloud admitted, "ever since Rufus told us about the reactor being reactivated it brought back a lot of bad memories."

"But that's in the past now," Tifa reminded Cloud.

"Yeah I know."

"Cloud, you can't keep letting that one event that happened years ago haunt your life," Tifa told him, she placed her hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "You have to accept that what happened happened and move on."

"I know," Cloud said again, he looked at Tifa and smiled at her, "you're right, I can't let what happened years ago take over my life. I have to move on."

"Don't worry," Tifa continued to reassure Cloud, "it's not like you're going there alone."

Cloud was about to respond when Cid interrupted them by speaking on the intercom so that everyone who wasn't on the bridge could hear him. "Alright everybody listen up because I'm only gonna say this once! We're approaching Nibelheim so you all better be prepared! Got it! Oh and Max get out of that damn engine room! I've told you enough times already!"

Cloud smiled as he heard Cid yelling at Max through the intercom for…well he had lost count. "I guess we better get ready." Cloud and Tifa left the bridge and went to their room to prepare their weapons or any items they might need. Half an hour later and the Sierra had landed near Nibelheim and the whole group was walking into town where they met a young woman wearing a WRO uniform, she smiled when she saw Cloud and the others approach her.

"You must be Cloud Strife," she said as Cloud shook her hand, "Rufus told me you and your friends were coming."

"Yeah," Cloud replied, "what's going on?"

"Well," the woman began to explain, "as Rufus has no doubt already told you, the reactor up in the mountains has been reactivated after being closed down for four years. There are guards standing in front of the entrance to mount Nibel, they've denied access to civilians."

"Did you see who went up there?" Max asked.

The agent shook her head, "not in great detail no, all I saw were two men and a woman walk up the mountain. I didn't get a good look at them."

Tifa turned to Cloud, "you don't think there are more of those necromical copies do you?"

"It's a possibility," Cloud answered. "Alright, we'll head up to the reactor."

"Wait," the agent stopped them, "there's more."

"What is it?" Cloud questioned.

"Rufus didn't tell you this, probably because we only found out as you were on your way here," the agent explained. "But there's also strange things going on in the old Shinra mansion," at these words the agent pointed to the mansion.

Everyone looked at each other, "strange things!" They all exclaimed at once.

The agent nodded, "yes," she replied, "although we're not sure what, we haven't had a chance to investigate the mansion yet and after what we've heard about what happened at the Northern Cave, we don't want to risk it."

"So you want us to investigate the mansion as well as the reactor," Max cut in. The agent smiled at Max.

"You catch on quick," she said, "of course you'll have to split up into two groups."

"Right," Cloud replied, "let's see, me, Max, Tifa, Pandora, Nightshade, Drogo, Reno and Vincent will investigate the mansion. The rest of you can investigate the reactor, we'll call each other on the PHS if anything happens, any questions?" Everyone shook their heads, Cloud smiled satisfied. "Good, let's move out."

The groups went their own separate ways, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Rude, Isis, Sunny, Lance and Angel made their way to the reactor. Meanwhile Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Reno, Max, Pandora, Drogo and Nightshade walked through the gate and entered the mansion.

"Wow!" Pandora exclaimed as her voice echoed through the large hallway. "This place is huge!"

"Sshhh," Cloud said as he gave Pandora a warning stare, "keep your voice down, it carries in an old place like this."

"Ok," Pandora whispered back.

Vincent looked around him seemingly indifferent but deep down inside he was still in pain. Like Cloud, this mansion had brought Vincent nothing but pain and misery. "Hmmm," was all he said.

"And I thought Rude was bad when it came to one liners," Reno joked, Vincent however wasn't amused and he glared evilly at Reno.

"Let's just get this over with," Cloud quickly cut in before Vincent could respond to Reno's witty remark.

"So where do we go from here?" Nightshade asked as he removed his shades, cleaned them on his coat and put them back on to his face, but not before everyone saw his gleaming red eyes.

"Your eyes…" Tifa stammered as she pointed towards Nightshade's eyes.

Nightshade turned round to face Tifa, "what about them?" He asked, he wasn't angry, on the contrary he was used to people asking about his eyes and it didn't bother him as much as it used.

"Their so…red," Tifa continued choosing her words carefully so she didn't offend Nightshade.

"Yeah," Reno added, "what gives? They have to be the creepiest looking eyes I have ever seen. They're even creepier than Vincent's eyes, and they're pretty scary, especially when he glares at you."

Nightshade scowled at Reno for a few seconds before he turned his attention to Tifa again, "it's because of my genes," he answered.

"You mean the fact that you're half Kitsune, half Dark Kitsune?" Tifa asked, she remembered everything that Drogo had told her on their trip to Coral.

Nightshade nodded, "yeah, I inherited the eye colour off my father. He was full Dark Kitsune, but he was the only one that was decent."

"So that means you have a Dark Form just like Max," Reno butted in again. Nightshade turned to look at Reno.

"Why so surprised?" He asked not taking his eyes off the Turk, "Max is my son after all, we carry the same genes."

"Anyway," Cloud interrupted before anyone could say anything else, "the sooner we investigate this place the sooner we can leave. We need to find the room with the secret staircase."

Drogo stared at Cloud, "there's a secret staircase?" He asked, he'd heard about old mansions and secret staircase but he had never seen one.

Cloud nodded, "yeah," he answered, "the stairs lead down to the basement, anything even remotely unusual or sinister happened in the basement. That would be a logical place to start."

The group walked up the stairs to the first floor landing in silence unsure at what kind of creatures were lurking in the dark, damp corners of the mansion. Fortunately no monsters appeared to fight the group. Maybe something was scaring them and keeping them in hiding. Eventually the group ended up in the room with the secret staircase, and the Max shaped hole in the wall was still there since he had fallen through it.

"Eh he…" Max laughed ruefully as he ruffled his hair, "sorry about that," he apologised.

"Don't worry about it Max," Cloud waved Max's apology. "This mansion's been around for years, I'm surprised it's not fallen apart yet."

Tifa looked down the all too familiar steps. "So, are we going down there or not?"

Cloud nodded, "Let's go."

The group proceeded down the spiral staircase, when they were half way down the stairs Max heard Zack's voice in his head. _"This place brings back a lot of bad memories," _he commented.

"_Zack?" _Max almost yelled in surprise. _"Is Aerith with you?"_

"_I'm right here Max," _Aerith answered.

"_Why does it bring back bad memories?" _Max asked Zack.

"_Well," _Zack explained, _"this was where my life was turned upside down. I guess I have Hojo to thank for that."_

"_Hojo?"_

"_Hojo was the Head of the Science Department in Shinra," _Zack answered, _"or as I like to call him, the murderous raving lunatic."_

"_Surely he can't have been that bad."_

Aerith and Zack paused for moment before they spoke again. _"Hojo was a horrid man," _Aerith informed Max, _"he killed my parents, experimented on me, Zack, Cloud, Vincent, Red XIII and countless others and…"_

"_He's proof that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth," _Zack interrupted Aerith.

"_Zack!" _Aerith yelled at Zack.

"_What?" _Zack retorted in defence, _"it's true, the first time I saw that guy I was thinking to myself, wow, what is holding this guy together?"_

"_Wow Zack," _Max said wittily, _"Your sarcasm knows no bounds."_

Zack laughed, _"Thanks Max, anyway, we got word that Hojo's back from the dead._

"_What?"_

"_Hojo's been brought back to life,"_ Aerith answered, _"I'm guessing from the same person who's brought all the others back to life."_

"_So there's a necromical copy of Hojo lurking around," _Max commented, _"So where's his good half?"_

"_What good half?" _Zack asked.

"_You mean he doesn't have a good side?"_

"_This is Hojo we're talking about," _Zack informed Max, _"he experimented on, tortured, maimed and even killed humans and animals for what he claimed to be in the name of science. But really he was doing it for fun. Me and Cloud have been on the receiving end of some of those experiments and it wasn't pretty."_

Max sighed, _"great, a mad scientist."_

"_A mad scientist, that's an understatement," _Zack muttered sarcastically, _"Psychotic is more what I'd say."_

"_Yeah, thanks Zack, your sarcasm never ceases to amaze me, is there anything else?"_

"_No," _Aerith stated.

"_Nope," _Zack replied.

"_Thanks," _Max replied gratefully.

"_You're welcome," _Aerith said.

"_We'll let you know if we find out anything else," _Zack added before he and Aerith disappeared.

The group had walked down the stairs and they ended up in the corridor where Cloud had first found Max and had fought that zombie together. The group continued to walk down the corridor passing the coffin room where Vincent had spent the passed 30 years sleeping. They reached the door at the end of the corridor which led to the lab, the group entered the room where Cloud found that it was exactly the way it was the last time they saw it. Cloud sighed as he walked over to the two stasis tubes in the corner of the room, he took a closer look at the tubes and he saw the messages that he and Zack had carved into the glass as a means to communicate with each other without Hojo noticing. _"Oh Zack," _Cloud said to himself, _"I'm so sorry." _Max walked up to Cloud and he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, Cloud turned round and he smiled at Max. _"_I'm ok," he said.

Max looked at the tubes, "so this is where you and Zack had been kept in for all those years?" He asked Cloud.

Cloud nodded, "yeah," he answered, "five long years."

"No wonder you went insane," Max commented, "I would, if I was cooped up for so long."

"It's ok," Cloud told Max, "it's in the past now, this place doesn't scare me as much as it used to."

Max was about to say something when he heard a voice behind him. It was a male voice but it sounded unusually high pitched and scratchy.

"Well, well, look who decided to return."

* * *

Meanwhile Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Rude, Isis, Sunny, Lance and Angel slowly made their way up mount Nibel. It wasn't so bad for Red XIII who was way ahead of everyone, Cait Sith, Lance and Isis were close behind him. With Cait Sith being animatronic and Isis and Lance being cyborgs they didn't get tired from the climb. Cid, Barret and Rude followed silently behind, but Sunny, Angel and Yuffie were lagging behind.

"Phew," Angel panted, "how much further do we have to climb?" She asked as she struggled to keep up.

"Not much further now!" Red called down to everyone, "we're half way there!"

"Why couldn't I have gone with the other group?" Yuffie complained not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Just shut the hell up!" Cid yelled at Yuffie, "You've done nothing but complain since we started climbing this friggin mountain. Your constant whining is giving me a bloody headache!"

"I was just saying that's all!" Yuffie shot back, "why couldn't I have gone with the other group there would've been less climbing?!"

"Probably because Cloud didn't want to put up with your complaining!" Barret shot back agreeing with Cid. "Nobody asked you to come!"

"What you think I'd let you guys have all the fun!" Yuffie shouted as she stormed up towards Barret, Cid and Rude leaving Sunny and Angel behind.

"Then stop your whining!" Barret shouted back, "I don't hear Sunny or Angel complaining!" Everyone looked back at these words and they saw the two women struggling to keep up, but they kept going never the less and they didn't complain once. Lance turned round and walked back towards Angel and Sunny, Barret did the same.

"Are you ok?" Lance asked Angel as he held his hand out to her.

"I'm fine," Angel answered, she smiled at Lance and she took hold of her hand. Lance helped Angel up the cliff and Barret did the same for Sunny. It wasn't long before everyone was back together again. Yuffie saw Angel and Sunny getting help and she glared at Cid.

"Hey!" She yelled, "I was having trouble keeping up too! Why didn't anyone help me?!"

"Yuffie!" Cid yelled, "That cliff edge looks mighty appealing right now, and if you don't shut your shit hole I'll push you off said cliff edge, understand!"

Yuffie sighed, "fine, I won't say another word."

Everyone continued to walk up the cliff in silence. Eventually they reached the reactor. "Well here we are," Cid remarked, "the reactor, damn just standing outside the damn thing is giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Well," Yuffie said impatiently, "let's get inside and get this over with!" She ran up the steps and entered the reactor before anyone else could say anything. A few minutes later and everyone was inside the reactor.

"So this is what a reactor looks like on the inside," Sunny commented she was intrigued by all the machinery.

"This was one of the first reactors that was ever built," Cait Sith informed everyone, as he hopped along the catwalk.

"Why was a reactor built at the top of a mountain?" Angel asked.

"Because mount Nibel was so abundant with Mako, did you see those brightly coloured caves?"

Sunny nodded, "Yeah."

"That's Mako," Cait Sith answered, "the next room is just across this catwalk come on."

Everyone followed Cait Sith and they entered the room with the pods, the room where Jenova used to be was at the opposite side of the room. Isis read the inscription on the door, "Hmmm, Jenova…interesting."

"Jenova was an alien organism that landed on this planet over 2000 years ago," Cid informed Isis. "But we destroyed her, apart from the odd Jenova cells that reside within Cloud."

"I see," Isis replied intrigued.

Everyone continued to search the reactor to look for some clue as to who was responsible for reactivating the reactor, the whirring of the machines was unbearably loud. Angel walked round the corner and was looking through the windows of one of the pods to see a grotesque looking monster within it.

"Aaahhh!" Angel cried out as she fell to the ground.

"Angel!" Lance yelled as he ran up to her. "Are you ok?" He asked as he helped Angel to her feet.

"I'm fine," Angel answered, "what is that thing?" She questioned as she pointed at the pod her hand was shaking.

"What thing?" Lance asked her.

"Look through the window," Angel told Lance.

Lance walked over to the pod and he looked through the window where he could see the same monster that Angel saw. He stepped away from the window and he walked back over to Angel. "It's ok, it's currently in stasis."

"But what if it…" Angel was about to ask but Lance placed a finger on her lips.

"From the looks of it, I'd say it's been in stasis for years. It's not gonna wake up now."

"Are you sure?" Angel asked she stared fearfully at the pod.

"I'm sure," Lance answered and he stroked her hair reassuringly, "and even if it did I wouldn't let it touch you." Angel kissed Lance for a moment and she walked off to continue with the search. Lance sighed and he took a step forward when he got the strange feeling that he was being watched. "Huh?" Lance turned round quickly but no one was there. Lance merely shrugged and he continued walking. Angel was a little further ahead and she was so deeply immersed in her surroundings that she failed to notice a shadowy figure leap from the pipes above the room wielding a double bladed weapon which was aiming for Angel. Lance saw this and he started running towards Angel. "Angel look out!" He called out to Angel, she turned round just in time to see Lance jump towards her, he grabbed Angel and pulled her out of harms way just in time as the blade sliced into the ground where Angel was a few seconds ago. The mysterious figure stood up just as the rest of the group noticed. The shadowy figure turned to face the group and grinned at them before speaking.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

* * *

**Chapter 15 is done, sorry it's a bit shorter than some of the previous chapters but because I had so much planned for this section of the story I couldn't fit it all on to one chapter so the second part will continue on Chapter 16 which should be coming up soon. Enjoy.**


	16. The Battle with Deepground

**Chapter 16: The Battle with Deepground**

Cloud and the others stared in shock at the man who stood before them. He was a man of average height with a skinny frame, his skin was as pale as death itself, his long, black hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. His attire consisted of a black shirt and trousers which were covered by white overcoat. His glasses slid halfway down his nose revealing his beady eyes. He grinned evilly at the group.

"Hojo!" Cloud yelled as he jumped back hardly daring to believe that the mad scientist, the man who had ruined not only his life but the lives of countless others including the lives of his friends was back. The fact that Hojo was still stood there grinning in the same way he used to whenever he was conducting his twisted experiments had unnerved Cloud.

Hojo's grin grew wider as he recognised the man who stood before him. "Well, if it isn't my failed experiment," he drawled in his usual scratchy voice.

Cloud glared at Hojo, "The least you can do is remember my name!" Cloud shouted at Hojo. "It's Cloud!"

Hojo was impassive to Cloud's outburst, on the contrary he was deeply amused. "Oh yes," he said calmly, "now I remember, forgive me for not remembering the names of all my experiments but I've had so many over the years that I lose track sometimes. Not that it matters, they're just meaningless experiments to me."

Max was repulsed by Hojo's lack of respect for life, "Meaningless experiments!" He yelled at Hojo still disgusted by him, "they were living beings with real thoughts and real feelings and you violated them!"

Hojo turned his attention to Max and he smiled when he saw the young Kitsune. "Hmmm," he thought out loud as he started to study Max closely. "There's no need to ask who you are," he droned on as he paced round Max and scrutinised him closely causing Max's skin to crawl. "Yes," Hojo continued in the same fashion. "You're Maximillion Borealis, yes I've heard so much about you and your race. Yes you'd make a fine edition to my growing collection of strange and wonderful creatures, and so would the rest of your race."

Max glowered at Hojo, "How could you?!" He bellowed at Hojo causing the scientist to jump back with shock. "We Kitsunes aren't science projects that you can lock in a cage and experiment on! We're an ancient race that deserve to be treated with dignity and respect!"

Again Hojo didn't seem to be put off by Max's vehement response. "Is that so?" Hojo asked with a hint of menace in his voice, "like I said you seem like an interesting specimen nevertheless."

Hojo was focused on Max that he didn't notice that Vincent had moved from his spot and in a flash of red he was behind Hojo and pointed Cerberus to his head. "Insolent fool!" He yelled at Hojo, "you've run out of experiments so you have to use beings that come from another world, just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower!"

"Humph, Vincent Valentine, we meet again. Tell me, how's Lucrecia?"

A clicking sound could be heard as Vincent removed the safety from the Cerberus and he held his finger even tighter on the trigger. "Are you going to kill me Vincent?" Hojo asked with a hint of amusement in his voice, "I don't think you should." Vincent still kept his finger on the trigger but then he pulled his gun away from Hojo's head and he put it back in its holster. "I knew you wouldn't have the guts to kill me," he leered at Vincent. Vincent merely shrugged in reply, he knew that there was a time and a place to kill Hojo and this wasn't it. First the group wanted information.

"What are you doing here Hojo?" Vincent asked the scientist.

"That is a secret Vincent!" Hojo snapped at Vincent.

"Who brought you back to life?" Max asked he drew his sword out ready to strike at Hojo if he stepped out of line.

"I'm not about to divulge information as delicate as that!"

"Ok," Max replied choosing his words carefully to keep Hojo amused, he paced closer to Hojo still holding his sword out in front of him. "Tell me this, why did you feel the need to conduct twisted and inhumane experiments on countless innocent people and animals?"

"Aaahhh, you wish to know why I did all those so called cruel experiments, fine I'll tell you," Hojo began his monologue. "I'm a scientist, I conducted all my research and experiments in the name of science. You're a genius yourself, you should understand!"

Max stared at Hojo in disbelieve but nevertheless he remained strong. "Yeah, and they say there's a very fine line between genius and insanity," Max told Hojo, "I may have stepped across that line on the odd occasion but you ran a marathon across that line and made your home on it!"

"Are you saying I'm mad?"

"No, the word mad is an understatement as far as you're concerned!" Max spat the words like a bitter poison. "I'd say you're bordering along the lines psychotic!"

Hojo glared at Max, "How dare you call me psychotic!"

Max glared back at Hojo, "You did all those crazy experiments in the name of science!" Max yelled, "What you did wasn't science! It was torture!"

"Small sacrifices had to be made for science!" Hojo shot back quickly, he tried to remain calm but Max knew that Hojo was becoming flustered.

"Small sacrifices!" Max retorted hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "You make it sound like some sort of barbaric religious cult! Science is supposed to improve lives not make it worse!"

"Hmmm," Hojo thought about what Max was saying, "you know, we're not so different you and…" Hojo didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as one minute Max was in front of him and the next he was behind Hojo holding his sword to his neck.

"Don't you dare!" Max hissed menacingly down Hojo's ear, "unless you want me to remind you of what happened the last time a villain made a monologue about how I wasn't so different from them! Or better yet, why don't you ask Balthazar, I'm sure he'd love to give you all the gory details!"

"Yes," Hojo agreed, still remaining surprisingly calm despite the fact that Max was holding a sword to his throat. "Why don't we ask Balthazar?" Max pressed his sword even closer to Hojo's throat. "Are you going to try and kill me too? I wouldn't if I were you!"

"Humph, it'll be one less…" Max didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as a fist shot out of nowhere and sent Max flying into the far wall. Max's back slammed against the wall and he slid down it landing on his stomach dazed. A figure walked up to Max and before he had a chance to get up the stranger had placed their foot on to Max's back and grinned down at him. Max looked up and his eyes grew wide in shock at who he saw and an all too familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Long time no see, Max."

* * *

Meanwhile in the reactor everyone stared in shock at the mysterious newcomer. The stranger pulled their weapon out of the ground and stepped slowly out of the shadows revealing a young scantly clad woman possibly in her mid 20s. She was dressed almost entirely in red and she had crimson coloured eyes and red-brown hair that came to just above her shoulders. She was an attractive woman but deadly in combat and she was still grinning at the group. 

"Rosso," Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Rude stated all at once.

Rosso's grin grew wider, "so you still remember my name," she said mockingly as she held her weapon behind her.

"Who's that?" Sunny asked.

"Rosso the Crimson," Cid answered not taking his eyes off Rosso, "she was a member of the Deepground Soldiers, a vicious, vindictive psycho bitch if there ever was one."

"Oh Cid Highwind," Rosso cut in still in her mocking tone, "you're too kind." She then noticed all the others in the group that she had never met before. "And you guys are?"

"We're not about to tell you!" Lance yelled at the woman, he still hadn't forgotten that Rosso had almost killed Angel, he held his spear behind him ready to strike if she came any closer. "Oh, and the woman almost killed, was my wife!"

Rosso smiled coldly at Lance, "Is that so?" She asked impassively, then she swung her weapon out in front of her, "not that it matters since you're all about to die anyway!"

"Ha, not likely!" Lance retorted as he brought his spear out in front of him and he got into a fighting stance, everyone else saw this and they followed suit.

"Oh," Rosso stated as she just remembered something, "I almost forgot, I want you to meet a couple of friends of mine." Rosso snapped her fingers and a large well built man wielding a giant cannon jumped from the pipes above the ceiling and he landed heavily behind the group, Rosso smiled at the man. "Well you took your time, Azul," she muttered sarcastically.

Azul ignored Rosso, "finally," he said as he readied his cannon, "I get to have a little fun." A strange black like substance moved across the floor and came to a stop next to Rosso. A strange man with a dark aura materialised out of it and he stared at the group.

"So this group is opposing us," the dark man replied impassively, "humph, not very impressive but I must commend their courage."

Isis materialised two gatling guns and stared at the man, "And you are?" She asked showing no hint of emotions.

The dark man laughed, "I'm Nero," he answered, "Nero the Sable and you're creatures from another world aiding Avalanche and WRO to foil our plans."

Isis was about to respond when Rosso cut in, "Nero, we came here to fight our opponents not bore them to death with inane chatter."

Everyone withdrew their weapons and got into a fighting stance, for a while the two groups stood their staring at each other, neither of them moving but rather they were staring their foes down trying to determine a weakness. Without warning the three Deepground Soldiers charged at the group in the middle of them and their weapons clashed with an almighty clang.

* * *

Meanwhile back on the Kitsune World someone was walking through the streets of the capital city heading for the palace. They were a young female hedgehog no older than 19 years old. She had purple-pink fur, a purple fringe and sea green eyes, the top head spine was tied back into a small ponytail and the other four hung down to her shoulders. She was dressed for the most part in red, her tube top was red, her trousers were red and her neckerchief was also red. Her gloves and boots were brown, the girl went by the name of Emily, she looked up at the sky and she noticed a strange planet unlike anything she had seen before. _"That's a strange looking planet," _she thought to herself, _"where did it come from?" _Not wishing to think about the planet anymore for now she approached the palace and saw Celeste the head Elder of the Kitsune council. 

"Celeste!" She called out the woman's name as she caught up to her.

Celeste turned round to face the young woman, "Emily, what brings you here?" Celeste asked curiously.

"I'm looking for Drogo and Sunny," Emily answered, "Have you seen them anywhere?"

Celeste shook her head, "sorry," she replied kindly, "I haven't seen them for a few days now."

"Hmmm," Emily thought about this, "they have to be around here somewhere, do you mind if I take a look around?"

"By all means," Celeste responded and she continued to walk down the corridor and round the corridor leaving Emily alone.

Emily walked down the corridor looking in every room to search for Drogo and Sunny but she couldn't find them anywhere. _"Wow,"_ Emily thought to herself as she look around, _"it's so easy to get lost in here." _Fortunately Emily wasn't one to lose her cool in a situation, she was a very skilled martial artist and had a lot of mental discipline. She searched the entire palace and she eventually ended up in a workshop underneath the palace. Emily found herself looking round eagerly, she was a blacksmith by nature and anything that had anything to do with creating things, more specifically swords then it was bound to catch her interest and something in the room had caught her eye. Emily saw a table in the centre of the room with a small object on top of it. She walked slowly up to the table and she saw that the object was a watch like device, however upon closer examination she saw that it wasn't a watch at all but some kind of teleportation device that had various buttons and dials on it. "Hmmm," Emily said to herself staring at the device with interest, "I wonder what this thing does." She found herself systematically pushing buttons on the device, she found that there were already preset co-ordinates on it. Intrigued she pushed another button just to see what it would do. She saw the co-ordinates reset themselves to form one random co-ordinate that she didn't know about. "What the…" She began to yell but she didn't get the chance to finish the sentence as she was surrounded by a bright light and she disappeared altogether from the workshop.

A few seconds later she appeared in the air and landed ass first on the ground. "Ouch!" She cried out as she rubbed her backside where she had landed, "talk about a rough landing," she looked at her surroundings and she saw that she was in a completely different area. "Where am I?" She asked herself, "am I still in the palace? If I am then this is the strangest looking room I have ever seen." Emily staggered slowly to her feet and she began to get her bearings, she looked behind her to see a strange looking tank. "Ok, what's with the tank?" Emily found herself being drawn towards the tank hoping to find out what was in there, however when she approached the tank she found that it was completely empty. "Was there some kind of experiment in there?" She questioned, she looked up and she saw a plaque above the tank with only a single word. "Hmmm…J.E.N.O.V.A…" She read the name out loud, "Jenova, that's an unusual name, especially for an experiment, I wonder what happened to it." Emily didn't have time to wonder any further as she could hear the sound of shouting and weapons clashing against each other. "What's going on out there?" Emily found herself asking, she instinctively unsheathed her weapon, which was a duel wielder and she swung it round behind her, she crept slowly to the door which automatically opened as she approached it, she carefully looked into the next room and she utter chaos.

Emily looked on as she saw Isis, Lance and a strange looking man with a gun arm who she didn't even know fighting an stranger looking man with a large cannon for a weapon. She saw a man who had a strange taste in clothing, but the really strange thing about the man was the dark aura that surrounded him, he was fighting a bald man wearing shades, another man wielding a spear and a cigarette hanging from his mouth screaming bloody murder at his opponent and a knee height animatronic cat. She looked over to the far right and saw a woman clad in red who's clothing left nothing to the imagination fighting a young woman wielding a giant shuriken, Angel and to her surprise Sunny. While Angel and Yuffie were fighting Rosso up close, Sunny was stood back unloading arrows with amazing speed and skill at Rosso, however Rosso easily deflected the arrows. She managed to knock both Angel and Yuffie out of the way in a single move before she stalked towards Sunny. Sunny knew that Rosso was too close to fire arrows at her so she quickly withdrew her knives, however because Sunny wasn't one for close range combat Rosso knocked the knives out of Sunny's hand and pushed her to the ground. Emily almost cried out when she saw this. Sunny tried to stand but Rosso placed her boot clad foot on to Sunny's stomach and kept it there.

"Ha," Rosso laughed at Sunny, "that was you're best shot, pretty pathetic if you ask me, and now it's my turn." Rosso brought her weapon above her head preparing to strike Sunny, terrified Sunny closed her eyes and waited for the final blow. Rosso brought her weapon over her head only to be met with a clang. Sunny slowly opened one eye to see that Rosso's weapon was being blocked by another one, a duel wielder. Sunny opened her other eye to see a young purple pink hedgehog standing at the side of her blocking Rosso's weapon with her own. Sunny couldn't believe her eyes.

"Emily!" She cried out, "What are you…"

"There's no time to explain," Emily quickly interrupted her, "Check on Angel and the other girl, I'll deal with her!" At these words Emily knocked Rosso back causing her to move her foot away thus freeing Sunny. Sunny leapt to her feet and she ran over to Angel and Yuffie who were just staggering to their feet.

"Are you two ok?" She asked.

Angel nodded, "We're fine," she answered.

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed, she looked over to where Rosso and Emily were fighting, "who's that?" She asked.

"That's Emily," Sunny replied, "we'll explain later, right now we have to help her."

"Right," Angel and Yuffie replied in unison.

"Feral wolf!" Sunny yelled and out of nowhere a pack of four large wolves appeared next to Sunny. She looked to her left and saw that Rude, Cid and Cait Sith were having trouble against Nero, she ran over to them.

Rude, Cid and Cait Sith put up a good fight against Nero, but he was too quick for them. Rude ran up to Nero and punched him but Nero quickly disappeared into the darkness and reappeared behind him, before Rude knew what was happening Nero roundhouse kicked him into the nearest pod. Rude skidded across the ground and slammed hard into the pod effectively knocking him out. Cid leapt into the air and held his spear downwards as he aimed to strike at Nero, Nero merely laughed as he caught the spear and swung it round and flung Cid to the other side of the room where he crash landed into Lance who was busy blocking the bullets that Azul was firing at him with his spear.

"Ouch!" Both Lance and Cid cried out in pain as Cid landed on top of Lance. Nero stared blankly at the two spear wielders before he turned his attention to Cait Sith, before Cait Sith could react Nero grabbed him by the tail and swung him round above his head before throwing him. Cait Sith flew across the room but he didn't hit the ground, rather he landed on something soft. Cait Sith opened his eyes and saw that he was on the back of something soft and furry, on closer examination he noticed that it was a large wolf. He saw three others stood next to it and he noticed Sunny stood behind them.

"Sunny!" Cait Sith yelled pleased to see her, "You saved my life!"

"Thank me later," Sunny told him, "Right now we have to fight these guys!" The wolves growled at Nero, he didn't flinch.

"Is that the best you can do," he still spoke in that same blank, dark voice, but his attention was focused on Sunny, "I expected better from an accomplished summoner." The wolves growled even louder as they heard Nero insult their master, the wolf with Cait Sith on its back lunged at Nero and launched into a combo of physical and earth based attacks finally finishing with a powerful earth quake move. When all this was finished however Nero had sustained some injuries but they were only relatively minor. He laughed at Sunny, "fool," he stated as he walked towards Sunny, "did you really expect that attack to seriously wound me?"

"No," a deep voice sounded behind her, "but this will!" Nero turned round just in time to see a fist hit him square in the face, Nero was knocked flying straight into the Jenova room and he slammed back first into the empty tank semi conscious. Sunny looked up to see Rude standing there quickly adjusting his tie.

"Rude!" She exclaimed, "you're ok!"

Rude nodded, "We Turks are very resilient," he told her, "it seems that Nero will be out of it for a while, we better help the others." Rude, Sunny and her summoned wolves ran in the direction where everyone was fighting Azul. Cid and Lance were back on their feet clashing their spears against Azul, even Angel had joined the fray launching herself at Azul with her devastating spin attack. Yuffie repeatedly threw her shuriken at Azul like a boomerang and Isis and Barret were jointly unloading bullets into Azul. However the bullets didn't even faze him. With one swift movement he knocked Lance, Cid and Angel away.

"Ha!" Azul laughed at the group. "Is that the all you've got?" Azul didn't even notice a pack of wolves charge towards him and jump on top of him growling, scratching and biting. A whole barrage of arrows were fired into Azul's back, he cried out in pain and turned to face the source of the arrows. Everyone looked over to the left and saw Sunny and Rude standing there. Azul threw the wolves off him one by one each of them slamming into the pods and crying out in pain as they disappeared. Azul then loaded his cannon and pointed it at Sunny. "Say goodnight cutie!" He yelled as he pointed the barrel right at Sunny's face. Azul had his finger on the trigger and he was about to pull it when he felt a sudden sharp pain in his back. He turned his head round to see Lance stood on his back digging his spear deeply into it. Azul shifted and tossed trying to throw Lance off him but Lance held on tightly.

"Oh no you don't!" He yelled at Azul, "You want to kill any of my friends then you're gonna have to get rid of me first!" Lance removed his spear and leapt off Azul's back before Azul could even react Lance picked Azul by the leg and swung him round and round going faster and faster each time he eventually let go causing Azul to go flying into the Jenova room and land on top of Nero. "Two down and only one to go." Everyone turned round to see Emily still fighting Rosso.

"Who's that?" Cid asked as he noticed Emily for the first time in the entire battle.

"That's Emily," Sunny answered, "she's a friend of ours but we'll explain everything later."

Everyone continued to watch as the two women battled on each blocking the other with amazing skill. Rosso couldn't help but be impressed by Emily. "I must admit, you're skilled in battle," she commented as she parried another one of Emily's blows.

"Like wise," Emily replied, "but if anyone ever threatens my friends, they don't normally live to brag about it!"

"Is that so?"

Emily and Rosso fought with a renewed vigour, Emily knew that Rosso was deadly in combat and that there was no way she could defeat her easily. Nevertheless she remembered her training and eventually she found an opening, as Rosso struck forwards Emily ducked underneath Rosso's attack and struck her in the leg.

"Aaahhh!" Rosso cried out in pain but she didn't have time to tend to her wound. She glared at Emily, "You bitch!" She spat as she struck at Emily with much more speed and strength than usual causing Emily to be knocked back and sent flying back first into a pod behind her, she still managed to hold her weapon as her back slammed into the pod. Before she could get to her feet Rosso grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up into the air she raised her weapon up with her other hand aiming to impale Emily. However before she had the chance to impale Emily an arrow shot into her back followed by another arrow and another until there was a whole line of arrows stuck in her back. Rosso immediately dropped Emily and she turned round to see Sunny stood there holding her bow out ready. Rosso merely grinned at Sunny, "You think a few crappy arrows can kill me?" She asked in a mocking tone. "I'm a member of Deepground remember it takes more than that to kill me and my comrades should be up any second now." As she said this, the wall of the Jenova room cracked and debris flew all over the room and Azul came stomping out of it holding his cannon above his head ready for battle again. At the same moment a dark shadow appeared on the floor next to Azul and Nero materialised out of it. The three Deepground soldiers advanced towards Avalanche and their friends when shrill voices filled the room.

"Holy White Dragon!" Everyone turned round to see Sunny and Angel stood side by side both of them were emitting a bright white glow. The white light shot into the air and a large white dragon materialised out of the light it flapped its regal wings as it glided round the room it was surrounded by a Holy white glow so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes. The dragon whirled round and faced Nero, Rosso and Azul who were too stunned to even move. The dragon opened its mouth and flames of Holy fire shot out of its mouth hitting the Deepground Soldiers and engulfing them in a cone of white fire which appeared to explode on impact. When the dust, flames and light cleared Rosso, Nero and Azul were lay on the floor grievously wounded but still alive nevertheless.

"You may…have been…able to defeat us…for now…" Nero panted but his eyes were focused on the group. "But you…haven't seen the last of us…" Before anyone could respond the three Deepground soldiers disappeared leaving the group alone. The dragon hovered above the ground for a few seconds before it disappeared, Sunny ran over to Emily.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she held out her hand to help Emily up.

"I'm fine," Emily answered as she grabbed hold of Sunny's hand and Sunny helped her to her feet. "Who were those creeps?"

Everyone walked up to the two girls, "They're called Deepground," Rude answered Emily's question, "they were defeated a year ago by a man called Vincent Valentine, and now they're back."

Emily was about to respond to this when Cid quickly cut in "Whoa!" he exclaimed staring at Sunny then Angel, "I ain't never seen a summon like that before!" Sunny and Angel blushed at this.

"It was a summon that we discovered we could summon together," Angel answered.

Everyone then turned their attention to Emily, "So who are you?" Barret asked her.

"My name is Emily," Emily answered, "I'm a friend of Sunny, Angel, Isis and Lance, but I've never seen you guys before."

"Well my name is Barret," Barret answered, "And this is Cid," Barret pointed to Cid.

"The best damn pilot in the world!" Cid boasted.

"And over there is Rude," Barret ignored Cid and he pointed at Rude.

"The one word wonder," Cid continued to interrupt, Barret glared at him and continued to introduce everyone.

"There's Yuffie."

"Pain in the ass extraordinaire!" Yuffie glared at Cid but Cid just ignored her.

"Lastly there's Cait Sith."

"An even bigger pain in the ass…wait…nothing can be more of a pain in the ass than Yuffie."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she continued to glare at Cid, he just ignored her again.

"Anyway," Barret cut in before Cid and Yuffie could argue further, "What brings you here?"

"Well," Emily started to explain, "I was looking for Drogo and Sunny, I searched the palace of the Kitsune world but I couldn't find them anywhere. I entered the workshop I didn't see them there either but I found a strange device lying on a table," at these words she raised her arm to reveal a small watch like device.

"Hey, that device looks familiar," Yuffie interrupted.

"I'm guessing Max must've invented them," Emily replied, "anyway, I put it on and started pushing buttons, next thing I knew I was here."

"You're in luck Emily," Lance told her, "Drogo's on this world too but he's on another mission, something about exploring an old haunted house."

"Speaking of missions," Isis added, "we still have our own mission to complete, how do we switch off all these whirring machines?"

Lance saw what looked like a fuse box, he walked over to it and with his left arm he prised the lid off and threw it to the ground, he spotted a switch and he pulled it causing the machinery to shut down and all was silent in the reactor. Rude nodded and he took his PHS out of his pocket and dialled Rufus' number. "It turns out that Deepground, well three members of Deepground anyway were responsible for reactivating the Mount Nibel reactor, it took a while but we managed to defeat them and the reactor has been deactivated again. We're gonna meet Cloud and the others at the mansion, Rude out." Rude placed his PHS back in his pocket and he stood there looking as taciturn as ever.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Emily asked the group, "We have to find Drogo."

Without another word the whole group along with their new ally Emily left the reactor and began their descent down the mountain back into town to meet up with the others, not knowing that there were far more sinister things waiting for them.

* * *

**Finally chapter 16 is complete, this chapter focused on the battle with Deepground, I know this is a big section of the story. The next chapter will focus on the battle in the mansion. Sorry this chapter took so long to write I've just been very busy with uni. I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, I do however own characters I've created myself.**


	17. Nightshade vs Balthazar

**Chapter 17: Nightshade Vs Balthazar**

Max stared in shock at the man standing above him as his voice, a voice that Max never wanted to hear again rang in his ears. A Kitsune with fire red fur, bright yellow eyes and hair as black as night. Max closed his eyes tightly at a last ditch attempt at denial but he knew that it wouldn't work, the man he had killed, the man he thought was dead was back. Max opened his eyes again. "Balthazar…" He finally managed to utter, still in shock.

Balthazar's evil grin grew wider, "So you do remember me," he said in a mocking tone. "I was starting to think that you'd forgotten about me."

Max shifted suddenly causing Balthazar to move his foot away as Max staggered to his feet, "don't flatter yourself!" Max spat as he quickly held his sword out in front of him and pointed it at Balthazar.

Balthazar didn't flinch once, "now, now," Balthazar replied in the same patronising manner, "there's no need for violence."

Max was about to respond to Balthazar's comment but Nightshade got there first. "Violence is the only language you understand," he stated quite calmly despite the anger he felt for this man for all the pain that Balthazar had caused.

Balthazar turned round and his grin grew wider still as he saw Nightshade stood there staring back at him. "Aaah…" Balthazar said in his usual patronising manner. "How've you been my little brother?"

Tifa stared at Nightshade as Balthazar said this, "he's your brother?" she asked shocked to hear that Nightshade was related to such an evil man. Nightshade hung his head.

"I don't want to talk about it," was all he said to Tifa, he then looked up and glared at Balthazar. "You should know," he retorted anger creeping into his voice, "since you were the one who ruined my life!"

Balthazar merely laughed at this, "you were always one to blame your mistakes on other people," he said still in that mocking tone.

"Oh, my mistakes!" Nightshade shot back not taking his eyes off Balthazar, "was it my mistake when you killed our mother and altered my memory?"

"You knew my secret," Balthazar spat he stared back right into Nightshade's red eyes with his own yellow eyes. "I had to find a way to discredit you, to silence you!"

"Well I'm sorry that you were pure evil from the moment you were born!" Nightshade yelled sarcastically, "but it didn't stop you from not blaming me when you killed my wife and Max's mum!"

Balthazar laughed at this, "Max was a special child of special blood," he explained as he started pacing round Nightshade. "Of course, Aurora got in the way," Balthazar said this with contempt in his voice, "the foolish woman was willing to sacrifice herself to protect her son, I merely granted her wish. The fact that I put her out of her misery in front of you was just an added bonus." Balthazar revelled in these last few words as something inside Nightshade snapped and all his calmness and common sense was thrown completely out of the window.

"Ok," A voice inside Nightshade's head yelled, the voice of his Dark Side, "now I'm pissed!" Nightshade glared at Balthazar his eyes glowed even more vividly than normal. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nightshade yelled at the top of his lungs as his fur changed from brown to dark purple. His long hair changed from blue to jet black and it stuck out more than usual. Nightshade opened his eyes and the pupils and irises had completely disappeared leaving the whites which now glowed red. Fangs curled out of his mouth and sharp claws stuck out of his fingers, his body was pulsing with dark energy. Balthazar's grin grew wider as he saw Nightshade finally lose it.

"Looks like I struck a nerve," he stated casually as if this was just a game to him, "Finally."

Dark Nightshade glared at Balthazar and he opened his mouth to speak, but a deeper and darker voice came out of it. "Oh but I'm gonna strike more than a nerve on you!" He hissed threateningly as he prepared himself for battle.

"Is that so?" Balthazar uttered just as menacingly as he too prepared himself for battle.

Max stood there staring at Nightshade, he was shocked to see Nightshade in this state as Nightshade had always seemed so calm to him. He was always the voice of reason even when Max had sometimes completely lost his reason. "Dad…" he tried to get Nightshade's attention.

Nightshade turned to look at Max, "Stay out this Max!" He yelled still in that same dark voice.

"But…" Max continued to speak but Nightshade interrupted him.

"I said stay out of this!" Nightshade shouted at Max again and he turned back to face Balthazar the dark energy around him pulsing stronger than ever.

Pandora was also watching the scene she stared from Nightshade to Balthazar fearfully, then she stared at Max who was still stood there staring in shock. "I'd do what he says Max," Pandora advised him, like Max she had never seen Nightshade like this before and she knew that the outcome wasn't going to be pretty.

Max snapped out of his shock and he walked over to Pandora, "but what about…" he pleaded with Pandora and he moved his head in Nightshade and Balthazar's direction, however before he could finish the rest of his sentence Pandora cut in again.

"This is Nightshade's fight now," she told him, she knew that given the chance Nightshade would've killed Balthazar over two years ago if Max hadn't of beaten him to it. Max was about to respond but Cloud spoke before Max even had the chance.

"Pandora's right," he said agreeing with Pandora, "besides," he added, "we should take care of Hojo," at these words Cloud looked behind him but the mad scientist was nowhere to be seen, "speaking of which," he continued, "where did that son of bitch get to?"

With a yell Nightshade lunged at Balthazar with no holding back, he held a clawed hand out in front of him and he grabbed hold of Balthazar's face, picked him up and slammed him into the ground still holding on to his face. Everyone stared in shock at Nightshade's sudden surge of strength, Balthazar suddenly kicked out striking Nightshade in the stomach causing him to let go of Balthazar's face and get sent flying into a wall. However a few seconds later and a purple blur was seen lunging at Balthazar and the two brothers rolled around on the ground punching and kicking each other in every available spot on their bodies, neither was willing to back down.

"_Whoa! I've heard of catfights but this is just ridiculous," _Zack suddenly spoke in Max and Pandora's heads.

"_Zack…" _Max began to grow annoyed at Zack's uncanny ability to suddenly appear at the worst possible time. _"If you've got nothing useful to say then go away!"_

Another voice in Max's head that Zack had never heard before spoke up. _"Max, for once I agree with you," _Dark Max said to his other self. (A/N, Max and Nightshade have two personalities, no they're not schizophrenic it's just that because of what they are their darker halves have personalities of their own.) _"ZACK SHUT UP!"_

Zack sighed and he spoke with an offended tone, _"Fine, I'll leave but I just thought I'd let you know that while you guys were distracted Hojo took the opportunity to sneak into the lab."_

"_Has he gone yet?" _Dark Max asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"_Hey!" _Zack yelled as he glared daggers at Dark Max.

"_Hold on there Dark," _Max told his dark counterpart. _"What did you say?" _Max asked Zack.

Zack sighed irritably. _"While…you were distracted…" _He deliberately spoke in a slower tone than normal. _"Hojo used that opportunity…to sneak…into…the office…"_

"_We're…not…stupid…" _Dark Max retorted just as slowly and sarcastically.

"_Whoa!" _Zack spoke up again, _"and I thought I had a smart mouth…Anyway," _Zack quickly changed the subject, _"Aerith and I overheard Hojo talking, he said something about getting some files from the office before the whole lab is destroyed."_

"_Destroyed?" _Pandora found herself asking.

"_HELLO!" _Zack yelled as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. _"Your father/father in law," _he added the extra part for Pandora's benefit. _"Is pissed, and in his current state and the sudden surge in strength, Nightshade could destroy this whole building never mind the basement!"_

"_Well, if you just got reminded of how your wife died," _Max said in Nightshade's defence, _"How would you react?"_

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa!" _Zack said quickly, _"have you ever heard the phrase don't shoot the messenger?"_

"_Actually," _Dark Max cut in as he grinned evilly at Zack, _"that's not a bad idea."_

"_Max," _Zack pleaded with Max, _"can you please keep your dark side under control, he's making me nervous."_

"_I'm sorry," _Dark Max said in a mocking tone, _"let me rephrase that, if I could do, I would shoot the messenger!"_

"_Max, tell him!" _Zack yelled at Max.

Pandora shook her head and sighed, _"Stop acting like kids you two!" _She shouted irritably.

"_He started it!" _Zack tried to shift the blame on to Dark Max.

"_HERE SHE COMES TO WRECK THE DAY!" _Dark Max sang in a joking manner, Zack laughed at this.

"_That's one thing I agree on," _he said agreeing with Dark Max for the first time in the entire conversation.

"_Zack…" _Pandora started but Zack interrupted her.

"_Gee you're worse than Aerith."_

"_Hey, I resent that!" _Aerith yelled as she glared at Zack, he merely gave her a rueful grin.

"_Aerith…"_

_Don't you Aerith me!"_

"_Ok, ok," _he said by way of an apology, _"sheesh everyone's so uptight."_

"_Aw…" _Dark Max mocked Zack, _"you're getting told off and I see you can piss off a Cetra. I bet she sold flowers at 100gil per flower."_

"_Actually it was 1gil," _Aerith corrected him.

"_Yeah a gil plus 9 more squared by cubed," _Dark Max continued in the same mocking tone.

"_Hey!" _Zack yelled becoming increasingly annoyed at Max's dark side. _"The only person who can piss Aerith off is me!"_

"_Will you two just SHUT UP!" _Max yelled at Zack and his dark side becoming irritated by them arguing.

"_Good idea," _Dark Max chipped in _"both of you shut up."_

"_He meant us stupid!" _Zack shouted as he glared at Dark Max.

"_Look who's calling who stupid!" _Dark Max retorted, _"I didn't get shot in the head!"_

"_THAT'S IT!" _Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he dived at Dark Max. _"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"_

"_BRING IT ON!" _Dark Max yelled as they both started fighting in Max's head, Max held both sides of his head in pain.

"_This is giving me such a headache," _Max complained.

"_STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" _Aurora yelled at Zack and Dark Max, who still carried on fighting.

"_Or what?" _Dark Max asked mockingly as he held Zack by the throat. Aurora stepped up to them and she separated Dark Max and Zack. _"How's she doing this?" _He asked half to himself, _"talk about a pain in the ass for a mother, I sometimes wish Max didn't have her for a mother."_

Aurora hit Dark Max, _"Watch your tongue!" _

"_Oh, I have to watch my tongue," _Dark Max mocked Aurora as she glared at him. _"Oh woe is me."_

Aurora banged Zack and Dark Max's heads together. _"Ouch!" _They both cried out in pain as they rubbed their heads.

"_Now apologise to each other," _Aurora said sternly.

"_Err no…" _Dark Max told Aurora, _"anyway, since when do I take orders from Miss Light?"_

Aurora glared at Dark Max, _"Because I'm Max's mother and because you and Max are both the same person that makes me your mother as well now apologise!"_

Dark Max gave Aurora the finger and she cast a shock spell on said finger, Dark Max cried out in pain. _"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"_

"_Could you two please stop arguing?" _Max pleaded with Zack and Dark Max, _"my finger is in pain and Dark."_

"_Yeah," _Dark Max answered.

"_Do you want to go back in The Cage?"_

A flicker of fear flashed on Dark Max's face, _"anything but that," _he pleaded desperately with Max. Zack laughed at Dark Max's fear.

"_Aw…is Dark Max scared?" _He asked mockingly.

"_Zack shut up!" _Max cut in before Dark Max could think of a comeback. _"Dark, you say one more word and I'll put you in The Cage!"_

"_So are you gonna catch Hojo or what?" _Zack asked.

"_Well if you hadn't been interrupting us so much we would've started doing that!"_ Max yelled at Zack.

"_Good luck guys," _Aerith said cheerfully as she,Zack and Aurora disappeared. Max started running down the corridor, closely followed by Pandora. Cloud saw them run down the corridor and he ran after them, Vincent, Tifa and Drogo followed him.

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked as he caught up with Max.

"Hojo's in the office at the back of the lab," Max answered as he carried on running.

"How do you know?" Tifa questioned.

"I'll explain later," Max replied, "come on," he ran faster down the corridor.

"But what about…" Tifa was about to ask when Drogo interrupted her.

"Trust me," Drogo reassured her, "Nightshade can handle this on his own." The group continued to run down the corridor in hopes of catching Hojo before he did another disappearing act.

* * *

Meanwhile Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Rude, Isis, Sunny, Lance, Angel and Emily entered the mansion just as Balthazar came flying through the floor and landed flat on his stomach momentarily stunned. "That had to hurt," Emily commented without flinching.

"Hey isn't that…?" Lance asked as he looked from Balthazar to Angel.

"Looks like it," Angel answered as she looked back at Lance.

"Wait a minute," Barret cut in, "I thought Max killed that guy."

"He did," Lance replied.

Sunny took a closer look at Balthazar, "so that's what Balthazar looks like," she pondered half to herself.

"You mean you weren't there?" Red questioned as he stared inquisitively at her.

Sunny shook her head, "I joined the group two years after Balthazar was killed."

"Son of a Bitch!" Cid cursed loudly, "these creeps are popping up all over the place!"

Balthazar woke up and he was about to get up when a clawed hand reached up through the floor and dragged Balthazar back down into the basement. A deep, dark voice could be heard from below. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!"

"Wasn't that…?" Sunny asked as the sounds of punching, kicking and spells being fired in all directions could be heard below them before Nightshade came crashing through the good staircase and slid across the floor.

"Is it me?" Cid questioned as Nightshade quickly leapt to his feet his teeth bared and his clawed hands ready for battle. "Or does he look pissed?"

Red saw Nightshade in his Dark Form, "Hmmm…interesting," Red thought out loud.

Balthazar came up through floor in Dark Form just before Nightshade punched him into the dinning room causing him to go flying into the piano breaking it cleanly in half before he skidded to a stop at the wall. Nightshade ran into the dinning room after Balthazar, grabbed hold of him and swung him round and round before knocking Balthazar through the wall back into the hallway again and through another wall leading to one of the storage rooms. The rest of the group were stood there staring in awe at the two Kitsunes fighting. Lance eventually broke the silence, "I think Nightshade is venting out some anger."

Balthazar blasted dark energy bolts at Nightshade as Nightshade ran up the wall and on to the ceiling before he jumped and landed feet first on Balthazar's face. The floor crumbled all around them causing Nightshade and Balthazar to fall through and land in the coffin room on top of Vincent's coffin, Nightshade was still on Balthazar's face.

The group were still stood there watching as Rude's phone rang. Rude quickly grabbed the phone and answered it. "Rude here."

"Rude it's Rufus," Rufus spoke on the phone as another crash was heard and Nightshade went through the floor and the ceiling. "Rude!" Rufus shouted over the crashing, "I heard a crash just now, what's going on?!"

"Well…" Rude began to explain but the rest of his explanation was drowned out by the sound of Nightshade ripping the door of the safe off its hinges, he swung it round as easily as if it was made of feathers.

"KNOCK, KNOCK!" Nightshade yelled as he launched the door at Balthazar as he went through the floor causing him to go flying through several walls and slam into the room with the secret staircase leading to the basement. "IT'S FOR YOU!"

Balthazar ran back through the holes he had made in the wall and launched himself at Nightshade, "WAS THAT YOU'RE BEST SHOT?!" He retorted as he grabbed Nightshade by the head and slammed him face first into the floor. "YOU FIGHT LIKE OUR MOTHER!"

Nightshade grabbed Balthazar by the throat, threw him down the stairs and he jumped on Balthazar's back using him as a skateboard as both Kitsunes slid down the stairs creating a massive big hole in the middle of the stairs as they went eventually landing in the main hall again. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Nightshade yelled as he and Balthazar continued fighting.

"Need I ask how stable the mansion is?" Rufus asked as calmly as possible.

"It's madness!" Cait Sith yelled as he began to panic, "It's madness I tell ye!" Nightshade grabbed Cait Sith, swung him round and round above his head and threw him at Balthazar. Balthazar caught Cait Sith in his clawed hand, slammed him to the ground and he lunged at Nightshade again, he grabbed Nightshade by the throat and he attempted to do a sleeper hold on him. Nightshade struggled and fought wildly, he eventually threw Balthazar off him and launched him upwards through the roof.

"I want those psychotic Kitsunes stopped before they completely destroy that mansion!" Rufus ordered down the phone.

"I wouldn't try," Lance advised.

"That mansion is over 100 years old," Rufus informed them.

"Yeah," Cid agreed with Lance, "Leave the S.O.Bs to it."

"Where's Drogo?" Emily asked.

"I believe he's in the basement," Rufus answered, "And who are you?" He questioned Emily.

"This is Emily, Rufus," Sunny answered, "but we'll explain later."

"Right," Rufus said, "I trust the mission at the reactor went well."

Rude nodded, "yeah."

"I'm not sure who's getting the most shit kicked out them," Cid observed as he noticed the large holes in the floor, walls and ceiling. "Balthazar, or the mansion."

Nightshade grabbed Balthazar and he threw him into the roof, the second floor, the first floor, down an elevator shaft to the basement and they eventually landed in a storage room just above the sewers that led to the reactor.

"I must admit," Balthazar remarked, "you've become stronger since the last time we met." Nightshade picked up a wooden crate and he smashed it on Balthazar's head.

* * *

Max and the others finally reached the office at the back of the lab where they found Hojo ransacking the office, there were some files in his hands but he was still looking for more and before he or any of the others could say anything the basement began to shake and Pandora noticed a broken support beam. "What happened?" She asked.

"Fools!" Hojo yelled at them, "the main support beam of the mansion has been badly damaged! You know what that means?!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Max shouted at Hojo.

"This mansion will come crashing down at any minute if your psycho for a father keeps it up!" Hojo rambled on ignoring Max's question and he continued to search frantically for the last files. "Now where are they? Ah, here they are." Hojo opened the draw in the desk and he found the last files in the drawer and he quickly picked them up. "So I'm gathering my past research to preserve it."

"Don't you ever call him that again!" Max yelled at Hojo a hint of menace in his voice.

"What do you want with all those research papers?" Cloud asked Hojo.

"That's on a strictly need to know basis Strife!" Hojo snapped.

"Gee, you remembered my last name," Cloud muttered sarcastically. "How kind of you."

Hojo was about to respond to that witty remark when a mysterious voice echoed in the room. "There's no time Hojo! Get out of there now before the Mansion gets completely destroyed!"

"Huh?" Max listened to the voice which sounded strangely familiar to him. "That voice…" Before anyone else could respond Hojo disappeared from the mansion. "Where did he go?" Max asked.

"Does it matter?" Pandora said urgently. "We have to get out of here now!"

"But that voice…" Max continued to ask.

Pandora grabbed hold of his hand, "We won't live to find out who that voice belongs to if we don't get out of here now!"

"_As much as I hate to admit it," _Dark Max spoke in Max and Pandora's heads. _"She's right!"_

"_Thanks Dark," _Pandora muttered sarcastically, _"it's nice to see that you have confidence in me…for once." _Everyone ran out of the basement and into the hall where they met up with the others. Emily saw Drogo and she ran up to him.

"Drogo!" She yelled as she hugged him.

"Emily?" Drogo couldn't believe his eyes but nevertheless he hugged her back. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Emily glared at Drogo, "Oh that's a fine way to greet your sister!"

"She's your sister?" Cloud asked Drogo.

"Yeah," Drogo answered, "but we'll explain everything later, right now we should make like a banana and split before this places collapses with us inside it." Everyone quickly ran out of the mansion just in time as it collapsed in on itself and it was reduced to a large pile of rubble.

"Is that everyone?" Cloud asked as he checked to make sure everyone was safely out of the mansion.

Tifa shook her head, "Nightshade's still missing," she told him.

"Has anyone seen him?" Pandora asked as she looked desperately at everyone.

"He didn't come out of the mansion," Vincent answered darkly.

Max ran up to the rubble and he began searching through it frantically hoping to find Nightshade hidden underneath the rubble, hoping against hope that he was still alive. "Dad…DAD!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to search for Nightshade in the rubble. "DAD WHERE ARE YOU?! Please don't be dead."

* * *

Meanwhile Balthazar flew down a hole in the storage room before he was kicked into the sewers, Nightshade jumped down after him. WHY ARE YOU HERE BALTHAZAR?! Nightshade screamed at his brother as he picked up a lead pipe and swung it at him. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY MAKE ME SUFFER ANYMORE THAN I ALREADY HAVE DONE?!" Nightshade then kicked Balthazar down a waterfall and through a tunnel, Nightshade then grabbed Balthazar by the collar and pinned him to the ground and he pulled his fist back. Balthazar merely laughed at this.

"So you finally decided to be a real man and not run away from your problems." Nightshade punched Balthazar square in the jaw.

"I'm more of a man than you ever were!" Nightshade snapped at Balthazar.

"Is that so?" Balthazar asked in his usual mocking tone.

"A real man wouldn't kill his own mother and frame his little brother for the crime!" Nightshade shot back as he kicked Balthazar through a metal gate. Balthazar leapt to his feet and he launched a Dark Lightning spell at Nightshade, Nightshade easily dodged it and he punched Balthazar through a corridor before knocking him up some stairs that led to the reactor. He then knocked him into the reactor into the central core completely knocking him unconscious. An electrical voice echoed through the reactor.

"The reactor self destruct sequence has been activated! The reactor will destruct in minus ten minutes!" Nightshade quickly turned round and he walked back out of the sewers. Balthazar had regained consciousness just as the countdown had reached the last second. "This reactor will now self destruct!"

Balthazar's eyes grew wide, "Oh shit…" were the only words he could utter before the reactor blew up taking him with it. Nightshade grinned when he heard the blast as he walked back through the sewers. Five minutes later and he punched through the rubble of the mansion, he climbed out of it and he de-transformed, breathing heavily.

"Dad!" Max yelled as he grabbed hold of Nightshade's arm to prevent him from collapsing of exhaustion. Nightshade looked up and grinned at Max.

"That…felt…so good…" Nightshade muttered between breaths, but he couldn't help but be pleased with himself.

"Yeah," Reno cut in, "but you completely obliterated the Shinra Mansion!" Reno pointed at the rubble as he said this.

"At this moment in time," Nightshade replied, "I really couldn't care less."

"Rufus is gonna have your legs broken, you do know that right?" Reno asked the now calm Kitsune.

"Again, I couldn't give a rat's ass," Nightshade told Reno again.

Max glared at Nightshade, "Were you out of your mind?" He demanded, "You could've been killed!"

"Right now," Nightshade told Max, "I vented out a lot of anger and I killed Balthazar. I feel good right about now and I don't care."

Max shook his head at Nightshade, "And I thought I had anger issues."

"Well we both have our dark sides son," Nightshade said to Max, "my dark half needed to vent out a lot of anger."

"Can we please get back to base so we can be debriefed?" Reno asked impatiently.

"And be yelled at," Nightshade muttered under his breath.

Max and Pandora helped Nightshade as the group walked back to the Sierra glad to have escaped the mansion just in time as what was left of the Shinra's dark history was reduced to ruins in a matter of minutes.

* * *

**Chapter 17 is complete, I know I was probably breaking some rules by having one of my characters completely destroy the Shinra Mansion but I think that place deserved it after all the sinister things happening in there. Sorry to end it there but for what else I had planned it wouldn't fit in the chapter so I'm gonna include it in the next chapter. What happens next, I don't know myself yet, I'm just making this story up as I go, but still it's all in good fun. Chapter 18 will be written shortly, that is if I'm not too busy with Uni, Enjoy.**


	18. Reminiscence

**Chapter 18: Reminiscence **

About ten minutes after leaving the site where the Shinra Mansion once stood the group were back on the Sierra again, and after Cloud had quickly spoken to everyone on the bridge and Emily was formally introduced the Sierra was on its way back to WRO. While Cid was flying the ship everyone had left the bridge to do their own thing. Max entered the engine room and he stared at the generator and all the wheels and cogs. A few seconds later and Cid's booming voice could be heard.

"Alright you S.O.Bs, we're heading back to base so buckle up!" Cid's announcement was interrupted by the sound of Yuffie throwing up, however Cid didn't really care. "Yuffie clean up that damn mess of yours and Max, get your scrawny ass out of that engine room!" Max glanced up at the speaker and he touched the engine gears. He then transformed into his Dark Form and he ran a claw along a moving gear creating a loud, high pitched scratching sound which greatly resembled the sound of a nail scratching a chalk board casing everyone on the Sierra to quickly cover their ears. Cid's voice on the intercom could barely be heard over that horrible screeching sound. "Max!" Cid yelled over the sound, "Stop making that dreadful racket!"

Max looked up at the speaker and he quickly de-transformed, "Ooops," he said innocently, "my bad." He walked out of the engine room and he entered the computer room where he found a girl with short brown hair, amber coloured eyes and wearing a grey coloured catsuit working on a computer. "Oh," Max suddenly spoke up unsure of what to think, "err…hi…"

"Maximillion Borealis," the girl stated blankly, not looking at Max. "Your current battle report is impressive."

Max stared at the girl, "how do you know my name?" He asked her.

The girl sat up and she stared back at him, "all data on Sierra is transferred to this terminal," the girl informed him, "I am merely working on it for the WRO, by the way my name is Shelke."

"Shelke huh?" Max mused, "so that computer has every battle I've ever fought in stored on it."

"Almost," Shelke explained, "it's every battle you've fought in after your first trip on the Sierra."

Max nodded to show that he understood, "so when I fought Loz in Kalm."

Shelke nodded, "exactly," Shelke stood up and she was face to face with Max, she took out a black phone with a green streak down one side and a blue streak down another. She handed it over to Max, "Here take this."

Max took the phone, "why are you giving me a phone?" he questioned.

"It has everyone's number on it," Shelke replied as she explained to Max how to use it. "Also if you press #MB you'll be directed to my terminal."

Max put the phone in his pocket, "ok," he said gratefully, "thanks."

"Also, give this to your wife," Shelke took a phone with pink hearts and red lips out of her pocket and handed it over to Max, "tell her that it's #PAN to get through to my terminal."

Max put the phone in his other pocket, "thanks I will," Max promised Shelke.

Shelke smiled at him, "oh, I also have one for your father." Shelke gave Max a black phone with two red stripes running down it. "Tell him that by pressing #NIGHT that he can gain access to my terminal."

"I'll give him the message," Max said to Shelke as he placed the phone in the pocket on his tunic. "You probably heard about what happened at the mansion," Max asked her.

Shelke nodded and she smiled again at Max, "yes, your father's skills are very impressive, I now see where you get your fighting skills from."

Max laughed, "somehow I don't think Rufus will see it that way."

"That mansion is steeped in dark history," Shelke informed Max, "all the experiments that were conducted there, it's a history that Rufus would rather forget."

"I think he'd be more worried that his ancestral home was destroyed rather than the history."

"Rufus is a changed a man, he genuinely wants to help the planet," Shelke said, "your father shouldn't worry."

"I know," Max agreed with Shelke, "thanks for the phones."

"You're welcome," Shelke said and she sat back down and worked on the computer terminal again. Max walked out of the computer room and made his way to the bridge.

Nightshade was leaning against the wall outside the engine room he had his eyes shut and was deep in thought. Nightshade had long since calmed down and he regretted destroying the Shinra mansion but he couldn't go back now. As much as he wanted to Nightshade couldn't go back in time to correct all of his past mistakes and that was what hurt him the most. He sighed but he pricked his ears up as soon as he heard the sound of Yuffie throwing up next to him.

Yuffie glared at Nightshade, "Don't just stand there!" She yelled at him, "Get me a bowl or something and ohhh…" Yuffie threw up again and this time she threw up on Nightshade's boots.

Nightshade quickly opened his eyes, "gross," he muttered under his breath, "projectile vomiting, that's all I need."

Yuffie glared at Nightshade and she was about to respond to his cryptic remark but they both heard Cid's voice on the intercom again. "Yuffie! You made that damn mess on my airship! I just had that bloody floor waxed a week ago! You clean it up!"

"Oh…" Yuffie moaned as she grabbed a bucket and a mop and began cleaning the sick up. Nightshade shook his head still disgusted at being thrown up on, he'd have to clean his boots later but for now he needed to think. Nightshade closed his eyes again and he shut out all of the background noise around him as he sank back into his thoughts again.

"Gil for your thoughts?" Someone spoke up suddenly, Nightshade's eyes fluttered open he looked up but he couldn't see anyone, he looked down and he saw Red XIII sat there staring intently at him.

"Red…" He mumbled barely above a whisper, he didn't really feel like talking at that moment in time.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were stood here by yourself," Red stated a look of concern on his face.

"I was just thinking," Nightshade told the beast.

"About what?" Red asked curiously not taking his eyes off the Kitsune.

"I was thinking about…" Nightshade was about to answer but he seemed to think better of it. "It's nothing," he finally said.

"Was it because of what happened to the mansion?" Red guessed still staring at Nightshade.

"Let's just say that meeting Balthazar again after all these years has brought back a lot of bad memories," Nightshade replied, he seemed satisfied with that answer it was quite a detailed answer but it wasn't enough to give it all away and that was how Nightshade liked it. However Red XIII had grown to be an expert at reading between the lines of what people were saying.

"I see," Red mused, "so it brought back memories of your wife." Nightshade hung his head but he didn't say anything. Red smiled triumphantly at Nightshade, "so love isn't overrated then," he said still remembering the conversation they had back at Cosmo Canyon when he had first found Nightshade.

Nightshade looked up again. "I…" he stumbled trying to think of a way to deny it but he couldn't. He couldn't deny that he still loved Aurora even after all these years.

Red saw this and his grin grew wider. "So you do still lover her," Red finished the sentence for Nightshade having already had a rough idea of what he was going to say. "I heard off Max that even though she's dead she can still act among the living."

Nightshade nodded, "yeah…" Everything suddenly seemed to slow down around Nightshade even though in reality it was moving at normal speed but to Nightshade time seemed to stand still as he saw a young female Kitsune with sea green fur, bright blue eyes that shone like the brightest stars. He long blue hair flowed gracefully down her back. She wore a pink and purple dress and pink shoes. Her whole body was emitting a strange glow that was so bright that Nightshade had to shield his eyes as the woman approached him but he recognised her instantly, the woman who Max greatly resembled. "Aurora…" Nightshade managed to utter hardly daring to believe his eyes.

Aurora nodded and she stood in front of Nightshade and smiled at him. That heart warming smile that always made Nightshade feel happy and remember his reasons for existing. "Nightshade," Aurora whispered softly, "isn't it time you let go of the past?"

Nightshade hung his head, "I can't," He replied sadly, Aurora reached her hand up and stroked Nightshade's face to reassure him, Nightshade took hold of her hand.

"But you've managed it before," Aurora told him encouragingly.

"I know," Nightshade said he removed his hand from Aurora's and he moved away from the wall, he had his back to Aurora not wanting to look at her. "It's just that meeting Balthazar again…"

"It's reminded you of what happened," Aurora finished off his sentence, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms round his neck. Nightshade smiled he would've given anything to feel her warm breath on his neck again. He would've given anything just to spend another hour with the woman he loved.

"It's because of Balthazar that I lost you," Nightshade replied the anger at the fact that he couldn't do anything to save Aurora from her grizzly fate was slowly creeping back. "Because of Balthazar that I had to leave Max in an orphanage."

"But you haven't lost me Nightshade," Aurora whispered reassuringly in his ear and she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm still here with you."

Nightshade sighed, "but it's not the same though is it?" He asked her looking down at the ground sadly.

"I'm still here aren't I?" Aurora continued to reassure Nightshade, "I'm watching over you and Max." Nightshade smiled, he turned to face Aurora and he wrapped his arms round her waist, holding her the way he used to before she was killed. How he long for those moments where they were together with nothing to spoil the moment.

"I know," Nightshade told her ruefully, "I guess I went overboard when I destroyed that mansion."

"_On the plus side," _Dark Nightshade spoke in Nightshade's head, _"you kicked Balthazar's ass, you've been wanting to do that for years."_

"_Do you mind?!" _Nightshade yelled at his dark side, _"you're ruining the moment here!"_

"_I'll come back when you've both finished," _Dark Nightshade stopped talking.

"I feel like I've let you down," Nightshade said to Aurora.

"You have to stop blaming yourself for my death," Aurora admonished him. "I don't blame you for what happened, I never did."

"I know you don't blame me," Nightshade responded he wrapped his arms tighter round Aurora's waist, he didn't want to let go, he wanted this moment to last forever but he knew that that could never be. "It's just that sometimes I think that maybe if I could've done something things would've been different."

"Oh…" Aurora said as she stared inquisitively at Nightshade, "if I hadn't have died, would Max have met Pandora? Would the Kitsune World and Terra Firma have been saved?"

"I guess not," Nightshade answered.

"Everything happens for a reason Nightshade," Aurora imparted some wisdom to him. "Even if we can't understand the reason, Balthazar stunned you, just because you couldn't save me doesn't make you a failure. After all you saved Max from a fate worse than death."

Nightshade nodded, he knew what Aurora was saying even though he couldn't save her, he was still able to save his son. "I guess so."

"Remember Nightshade, if you need me I'll be right here," Aurora pointed to Nightshade's heart, she then placed her hands on both sides of his face and kissed him passionately before letting go of him. She walked back down the tunnel and she turned back to face him and blew him a kiss before she turned round and disappeared from sight. _"I'll always love you," _Nightshade heard Aurora's voice in his head.

"_I love you too," _Nightshade told Aurora in his head, he closed his eyes and all the memories he had of him and Aurora together flashed in front of his eyes and he smiled as he saw each one and again he was oblivious to the world around him, to be honest he didn't really care at that moment in time. But he knew that somewhere out there someone was calling his name.

"_Nightshade…"_

"_Not now…"_

"_Nightshade…"_

"_Leave me alone, let me have this moment."_

"NIGHTSHADE!" Nightshade opened his eyes and he saw Red staring at him a look of concern on his face. "Nightshade are you ok?" He asked once the Kitsune had come to his senses.

Nightshade nodded, "I'm fine," he replied he felt lighter and more cheerful as though a great weight had been lifted off him.

"Are you sure?" Red questioned not taking his eyes off Nightshade, "you went quiet there for a while."

"I was just thinking," Nightshade answered.

Red laughed, "you remind me of what Cloud used to be like," the beast told him. Nightshade was about to respond but Cid spoke again on the intercom.

"Alright this is your damn captain speaking!" Cid yelled down the intercom so that everyone on board could hear him. "We're approaching the WRO Headquarters so hang on tight cos it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Nightshade sighed as he realised that they were getting closer to WRO and the fact that Rufus was gonna give him a good telling off was just around the corner. "Rufus is gonna kill me."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Red said trying to sound encouraging.

Nightshade nodded, he knew that the beast was right, Rufus wasn't one for physical violence what was the worst he could've done? "Yeah, you're right," Nightshade looked down and for the first time in a while he noticed the sick that was all over his boots from Yuffie throwing up on him before. "I think I'll go to my room and get myself sorted out." Nightshade walked down the corridor to his room to clean himself up.

Half an hour later and the Sierra landed in the WRO grounds and Cid's voice echoed through out the ship for the final time. "Alright we're here! Everyone get off my damn ship till next time!" Everyone filed out of the Sierra and they were approaching the WRO HQ as soon as they walked in the receptionist approached them.

"Rufus is currently in his office," she informed the group. "He didn't look or sound too pleased."

Nightshade looked worried, "I think I know why," he said quietly barely above a whisper. Emma walked up to Reno and she glared at him.

"Emma…" Reno said innocently as she approached him.

"Don't you Emma me!" She yelled as she jabbed her finger into his chest.

"Ok," Reno tried to think of a way to get him out of this sticky situation. "I have a perfectly good explanation."

Emma folded her arms and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, "Explain then," she said irritably, "and this had better be good."

Reno tucked on his collar nervously, "well…" he began he then quickly looked at Rude. "Rude, help me out here."

"Keep me out of this," Rude told his friend and he pretended to clean his shades even though they didn't need cleaning.

Reno glared at Rude, "Some friend you are!" He snapped, Drogo was almost on the floor laughing his head off.

"Looks like your busted again Reno!" He joked laughing even harder.

Reno glared at Drogo, "Well I could tell her about the Shinra Mansion!" He snapped at the hedgehog. Emma's eyes grew wide as she heard this.

"What happened to the Shinra Mansion?" She asked her anger for Reno had disappeared temporarily.

"Well," Reno explained, "Nightshade destroyed it," he pointed to Nightshade as he said this, Nightshade hung his head again as he wished that the ground would open underneath him and swallow him up.

Emma looked thoughtful as she heard this, "I was wondering why Rufus was yelling bloody murder before," she informed the group.

"I'm so dead," Nightshade muttered under his breath.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," Pandora reassured him. As Pandora said this Rufus' voice could be heard over the loudspeaker and he didn't sound pleased.

"Send Nightshade up to my office, I want to have a word with him."

"Right away sir," the receptionist said as she took the message on board, she then looked at the group. "Nightshade, Rufus would like to see you in his office." Nightshade sighed, he knew what was coming next.

"Wish me luck guys," he whispered to the group as he left the room.

"Good luck," Everyone said as Nightshade disappeared through the door. Emma gave Reno a dig in the stomach before she too walked off.

"Owwww!" Reno cried out in pain as he grabbed hold of his stomach where Emma had hit him. "What was that for?"

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you missing our date!" She yelled at Reno before she stormed out of the lobby.

Nightshade got out of the lift on the eighth floor and he walked down the corridor to Rufus' office, he knocked carefully on the door and waited for a reply. "Come in!" Rufus shouted through the office, Nightshade opened the door and walked in. He saw Rufus standing at the window with his back to Nightshade.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Nightshade asked as politely as he could as he knew that Rufus was in no mood for any messing around.

"Yes," Rufus responded as calmly as he could, he still had his back to Nightshade.

"I'll just sit down then," Nightshade said as he walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair his tails were spread out in all directions. Rufus eventually turned round to face Nightshade, he walked over to his chair and sat down.

"Need I ask what all that was about at the mansion?" He asked glaring at Nightshade.

"It was a family matter," Nightshade answered although it was rather vague he didn't want to go too much into it.

"And yet you felt the need to destroy my ancestral home," Rufus continued still trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Well," Nightshade began, he thought that he should explain everything to Rufus. "Balthazar was in the lab, we got into a fight."

"A fight," Rufus repeated what Nightshade had said, "it must've been one hell of a fight if you managed to single handedly destroy a mansion!"

"Well my brother and I don't exactly see eye to eye," Nightshade continued to explain. "Since he killed our mum and my wife."

"Problems or no problems," Rufus started to lecture Nightshade, "you should control your anger in the future, especially since you are more destructive in your dark form."

"Well he can be a bit aggravating," Nightshade said in his defence.

Rufus sighed, "if it's one thing I've learnt," he told Nightshade, "it's to not let personal matters get in the way of the task at hand."

"I'll keep that in mind if my brother shows up again," Nightshade told Rufus to let him know that he would take it into consideration.

Rufus nodded he saw that the Kitsune was sincere, "make sure you do," he replied, "we want to restore the world not destroy it!" Nightshade's ears drooped as he heard this but he didn't say anything so Rufus continued. "Do you have any idea of the damage you've caused? Not only to the Mansion but to the reactor as well!"

"I can pay for that," Nightshade suggested to Rufus.

Rufus gave Nightshade a sceptical stare, "How?" He asked.

"With this," Nightshade reached into his pocket and he pulled out a small, red jewel, it didn't look like much at first glance but it was extremely valuable. He gave the jewel to Rufus, he stared at the jewel.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked.

"Sell it," Nightshade answered, "the amount you get for it should pay off the damage."

"Hmmm…" Rufus thought about this for a while and then he put the jewel in his coat pocket. "I suppose I could sell it, but don't you ever do anything like that again or I'll make you sit out of any future mission, understand?"

Nightshade nodded to show that he understood, "I understand," he told Rufus, "but if my brother ever shows up again then I can't say that my dark half will listen."

"Then make it listen!" Rufus snapped at Nightshade, "I don't want you destroying anymore expensive buildings or equipment!"

"I'll be more careful next time," Nightshade reassured Rufus.

"Make sure you are," Rufus replied.

"Are we finished?" Nightshade asked, "Can I go?"

"Get out of my sight," Rufus answered, "oh and tell the others that I'm in no mood to start the meeting now, we'll have it tomorrow morning." Nightshade slowly stood up and he took one last look at Rufus before he walked slowly out of the room. Fifteen minutes later and Nightshade walked out of the elevator and into the lobby where everyone was waiting. Max and Pandora walked up to Nightshade.

"How did it go?" Max asked his father.

Nightshade looked up at the group, "it was fine, I guess," he answered.

Pandora gave Nightshade a smug smile, "see," she said in an I told you so tone, "I told you it wouldn't be that bad."

Nightshade gave her a rueful stare, "he said that I should learn to control myself on future missions," he continued to explain, "I also gave him a jewel to help pay for the damage done."

Everyone stared at him, "But didn't that jewel belong to…" Max was about to ask Nightshade but Nightshade held up a hand to silence him.

"It was just sitting there in my pocket," he answered, "besides, it was only a jewel at least now it'll be put to good use."

"I guess so," Max agreed with Nightshade.

"Good," Then Nightshade remembered what Rufus had told him to tell the others, "by the way, Rufus said that there'll be no meeting today as he's in no mood. However he said that he'll hold the meeting tomorrow."

"So I guess this means we have the day off," Cloud said, as much as he wanted to plan the next course of action he knew that they needed a break and that their opponents would need time to recuperate and re-group.

"Question is," Red began to ask, "what do we do now?"

"Whatever you want to do," Cloud answered and he started to walk off, "I think I'm gonna go to Aerith's church for a while, give me some time to think." He walked out of the lobby, got on Fenrir and drove off towards Midgar. Everyone gradually went they're own separate ways and spent the rest of the day doing they're own thing.

* * *

Later on that evening Nightshade was stood on the roof of the clock tower in Kalm, he stood there with his arms folded and the wind blowing through his hair causing his long ponytail to flow with the wind. He looked down at the people below going about their normal routine as they closed for the night. Nightshade sighed, _"_Look at them, going about their daily business as if everything's ok,"he mumbled to himself,"humph, if only they knew." 

"Some people are just ignorant," a deep voice suddenly spoke up behind him, Nightshade quickly turned round and he saw Vincent walk towards him.

"Vincent," Nightshade whispered he was going to ask what the man was doing there, then he realised that this was Vincent's home. "Sorry I was just…"

"It's ok," Vincent replied as he politely brushed Nightshade's apology to the side. "Max and Pandora were up here the other night, I don't mind really."

Nightshade sighed, "I just…"

"Needed somewhere quiet so you could think," Vincent finished Nightshade's sentence, he knew exactly what the Kitsune was going to say.

Nightshade nodded, "About what happened at the mansion today I just…"

"Completely lost it."

"Yeah," Nightshade answered, "how did you…"

Vincent sighed, "I was a lot like you once," Vincent told Nightshade, "I had all the hope for the future, but just like that it was all taken away from me."

Nightshade stared at Vincent, "What happened?" He asked curiously.

"I fell in love with a beautiful young woman called Lucrecia," Vincent explained, even though he managed to remain calm he was still suffering from the pain. "Of course she fell for Hojo, she said that for the good of the project she should stay with Hojo."

"Was that how Sephiroth was created?"

Vincent nodded, "yes, of course Lucrecia became ill because of the Mako and Jenova cells that were injected into her, in my anger I confronted Hojo but I was shot in the process and experimented on. This creature known as Chaos was put inside me, Lucrecia gave me something called the Proto materia that enabled me to control Chaos. When Sephiroth was born Hojo took him away from Lucrecia and I haven't seen for over 30 years."

"That's so sad," Nightshade whispered sadly as he quickly brushed a tear away.

"That room you were in with all the coffins," Vincent continued, "the coffin you and Balthazar landed on was the coffin I slept in for 30 years."

Nightshade stared at Vincent, hardly daring to believe that anyone in their right mind would sleep in a coffin. "Why were you sleeping in a coffin?"

"To atone for my sins," Vincent answered, Nightshade sighed but he didn't say anything so Vincent continued. "We have a lot in common, we were both cold hearted individuals, and yet we fell in love with a woman who treated us with kindness. We both committed the same sin."

"We failed to save the woman we loved," Nightshade replied as he realised what Vincent was saying, "something I could never forgive myself for."

"You will learn to forgive yourself in time," Vincent said reassuringly, "it took me 33 years to come to terms with my past. I was helpless to save Lucrecia and you were helpless to save Aurora, even though our circumstances were different, the outcome was the same. We both lived with the guilt for some time."

"I spent Max's whole life on the run and in hiding," Nightshade admitted to Vincent, "I regretted making that decision but…"

"You were doing what you thought was best at the time," Vincent finished Nightshade's sentence off for him. "Max eventually understood didn't he?"

Nightshade nodded, "yeah, it took a while though."

"Nightshade, if you keep living in the past then it's going to haunt you for the rest of your life," Vincent advised although it took him a while to follow the advice himself. "You have to look to the future if you are to truly move on."

"I know," Nightshade said as he continued to look out, "I feel like I've made a complete mess of things, and with Balthazar showing up again, it just brought it all back."

"All you did was vent all your anger, which was perfectly understandable," Vincent consoled Nightshade, "to be honest I was thinking of destroying that mansion myself, you did me a favour."

Nightshade smiled, "I'm glad someone things so, anyway, destroying the mansion wasn't my intention, it just happened. My Dark Form especially when I'm…its angry can be very destructive."

"Another thing we have in common," Vincent remarked, "everyone has a dark side, yours and Max's have completely different personalities but it's the same principle. But what's important is how we control that dark side, and you and Max seem to control it well. All you did was lose it, it happens to the best of us."

Nightshade nodded, he understood what Vincent was saying, he had bottled up his anger for so long that he almost forgot how to express it at one point. However when he met Balthazar it all just exploded out of him. "To be honest," Nightshade admitted to Vincent, "when I was kicking the shit out of Balthazar, it felt good. Finally I was getting pay back for all the years of pain and anguish he caused me."

"The same feeling I got when I killed Hojo," Vincent told Nightshade, "of course Hojo always finds a way to return, but I always get the satisfaction knowing that I can kill him again."

Nightshade smiled, Vincent understood how he was feeling and it made him feel better, like he wasn't alone. "Thanks Vincent," he replied gratefully, "I feel a lot better now. I think I'll start heading back." Vincent nodded and Nightshade ran to the edge of the building and jumped off landing gracefully on the ground and he ran back to the WRO HQ. Vincent walked over to the edge of the roof and he looked down at the town below.

* * *

Meanwhile Cloud was sat by himself in the ruined church in Midgar, despite Midgar being a dangerous place filled with monsters and other mutant creatures, they didn't dare venture into the church with it being a sacred place. Aerith's church was like the oasis in the vast desert which was Midgar. Cloud sat at the edge of the Life Stream pool where the flowers used to be, he sighed, "Funny isn't it," he said to himself, "this is the only place where I feel like I'm really connected to you," Cloud smiled as memories of Aerith flashed before his eyes. He saw himself meeting Aerith for the first time and their adventure together as Avalanche pursued Sephiroth all the way up to her death at the hands of Sephiroth and even though Aerith had forgiven him and he had forgiven himself (near enough) he couldn't help but feel at least partly responsible for her death. "I know you've forgiven me but I still feel responsible for your death, I guess I always will…" Cloud sighed as he trailed off, he closed his eyes as he could almost hear Aerith's voice in his head. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't hear anyone enter the church. 

"You really ought to let go of the past you know," a voice said behind Cloud, Cloud turned round and he saw Max leaning with his back against the church door.

"Max…" Cloud said still in a state of shock at seeing the Kitsune standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Tifa wanted to come back and check on the Seventh Heaven, I gave her a lift on my bike. I thought I'd come and see you while I was here, Tifa said she'd be along shortly."

Cloud nodded, "I see, she probably wants to check on the books. I hope she'll be ok in Edge on her own, what with everything that's happened."

"Tifa's a strong woman," Max reassured him, "she'll be fine."

"I know," Cloud said and he smiled as he remembered how strong Tifa was. "I was just…"

"Reminiscing about the past," Max finished his sentence for him.

Cloud stared at Max, "How did you know?"

"I'm psychic remember?" Max asked feeling slightly irritated, but at the same time he was quite smug.

Cloud smiled weakly, "yeah, I remember," he answered as Max lifted himself off the wall and walked over to where Cloud was sitting and he sat down next to him.

"The Life Stream," Max stated absent mindedly as he stared at the clear green fluid. "So this is what it looks like."

Cloud nodded, "This is why flowers were able to grow here, even though Midgar itself was barren. I always thought that there was something magical about Aerith."

"She's a Cetra," Max said, Cloud stared at Max, "Aerith told me," Max explained.

"I forgot you can hear the dead," Cloud replied.

Max nodded, "it can be a curse as well as a blessing sometimes," he said, Cloud shook his head sceptically and Max laughed, "seriously, anyway, Aerith said that she doesn't blame you, and neither does Zack."

Cloud sighed, "I know, it's just that I really miss them."

"I know," Max said sympathetically, he knew exactly what Cloud was going through, "I miss my mum."

"At least you can still talk to her," Cloud replied trying to sound encouraging, "I can't exactly talk to Zack and Aerith."

"And yet they're there," Max reminded Cloud, "and they're watching over you."

Cloud laughed, "yeah, not much has changed, Zack watched over me in life, why would he stop in death?"

"I guess he felt honour bound," Max answered, "An unfulfilled promise."

"I just wish there was a way I could bring them back," Cloud whispered softly still missing his friends, still missing the people he couldn't save.

"I'm not really sure I can help you much there," Max replied sadly, "reviving the dead is beyond my capabilities." Then he remembered the conversation Pandora and Zack were having on their way to Edge after they had fought Kadaj Yazoo and Loz in Kalm. Zack hinted at a miracle that could revive the dead, it was one of the, if not the only intelligent thing that Max had heard Zack say since he started talking to him. Max also remembered reading books on these miracles in the library in the palace on the Kitsune World, if he could just find a way back to the Kitsune World he could find the books. Max was about to tell this to Cloud but Tifa entered the church.

"Hi guys," she said cheerfully as she walked up to them.

"Hi Tifa," Cloud and Max said in unison. "How's everything at the Seventh Heaven?" Cloud asked Tifa.

"Everything's fine," Tifa answered, "thanks for taking me to Edge Max," she said gratefully.

"Anytime," Max replied. "So are we gonna go back to WRO?" He asked staring at Cloud and then at Tifa.

Cloud nodded, "yeah," I think that'll be a good idea, the monsters come out at night." Cloud, Tifa and Max walked out of the church and walked over to their bikes. Max got on to his bike and Cloud got on Fenrir, Tifa climbed on to the back of Cloud's bike and they took off back to WRO before the monsters even had a chance to spot them.

* * *

Meanwhile in a highly classified location, Rosso, Nero, Azul and Hojo were stood in front of a large throne like chair. The person sat in the chair couldn't be seen clearly as their features were shrouded in shadow. 

"This is unacceptable!" The voice echoed round the room as they glared at the four people stood in front of them.

"Master," Nero spoke up, "with all due respect…"

"Silence!" The voice boomed again, Nero immediately fell silent. "I will not tolerate failure!"

"Yes master," they all replied in perfect unison.

"And if Balthazar wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself!" The master continued to shout.

"Why don't you bring him back to life and kill him again?" Hojo suggested.

"Hmmm, it's tempting, but no," the master answered a little calmly, "I need all the man power I can get and now that the Mount Nibel reactor has been destroyed it means we have to change tactics."

"Hmmm, if I could repair the eight reactors in Midgar we could use all the power from there," Hojo suggested.

His master thought about it for a while, "how long will that take?" They asked staring intently at Hojo.

"Well," Hojo began to theorise, "with the technology I have just invented it could take up to two weeks, maybe less if I start now."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to wait for two weeks."

"Of course not master."

"Very well," the master agreed with Hojo's plan, "Hojo make a start on repairing the reactors, as for you three," the master glared at the Deepground Soldiers. "You make preparations to get the reactors online when Hojo's finished repairing them so we can continue with the next phase of the plan. I must go and revive Balthazar." Five hours later and Hojo had begun his repairs on the reactor and his master had come to check on how he was doing. "Well?" They asked, "how are the repairs going?"

Hojo smiled evilly at his master, "The repairs on reactor 1 are complete, reactor 2 is 25 repaired. The Deepground Soldiers and Sephiroth are waiting to put the power back online."

"Excellent," his master cackled evilly, "with all eight reactors running we can channel the Life Stream into it and then my plan will really take off."

Hojo stared at his master, "and yet there was something strange about that young Kitsune I met in Nibelheim, Maximillion Borealis."

"He's a legend in his own right, despite being so young," Hojo's master informed him. "He is a strong adversary and isn't someone to be under-estimated, his blood is unique."

Hojo grinned when he heard this, "interesting, I'll have to research this further."

"Max may be of use to us," his master suggested, "it would be wise to keep him alive for now."

"How useful?" Hojo asked.

"I haven't decided yet, but I believe that his DNA is the key to his power," they turned to Hojo. "Hojo, it looks like you'll be getting another science project after all."

Hojo rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "excellent, I've waited years for another science project, but how will we get Max?"

"Hojo, Hojo, though you have a brilliant mind you lack subtlety," his master told him, "Max is incredibly clever, you have to outsmart him, we have to bide our time and wait for the right moment to strike."

"But he's always with his friends," Hojo complained.

"Then we'll have to find a way to separate him from the rest of the group," his master answered growing increasingly irritated by Hojo's incompetence. "That way he'll be easier to catch."

"How will we catch him?" Hojo questioned.

"You leave that to me," the master answered smugly, "for now you just focus on getting those reactors up and running." With that the master left and Hojo continued with repairing the reactor.

The master walked down a corridor back to their private quarters and they cackled evilly as they thought about their plan to take over the world. _"Enjoy your freedom while you can Max," _they said to themselves still laughing evilly. _"Because it won't last long." _The villain laughed even harder as yellow eyes gleamed in the dim light.

* * *

**Finally chapter 18 is complete, sorry there wasn't much action in this chapter but then again there was a lot of action in the previous chapter. I thought I'd let Nightshade have a bit of a romantic moment, also you get a glimpse into what the bad guys are planning, although it's not a lot, I can't give too much away. Stay tuned for chapter 19 which will be coming up soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, I do however own characters I've created myself.**


	19. A Way Home

**Chapter 19: A Way Home**

It had been a whole week since the group travelled to Nibelheim to put a stop to their foe's plans. The Shinra Mansion and the Mount Nibel reactor were destroyed albeit accidentally on Nightshade's part. Rufus had called a meeting the very next day congratulating the group for their efforts, however he didn't mention the destruction of the mansion and the reactor again much to Nightshade's relief, he didn't want to be reminded again. Rufus also stated that he had received no reports from his agents of any unusual activities thus the group were able to relax. That was a week ago now and Max was sat on the doorstep of the Seventh Heaven, Cloud and Tifa had told Max and Pandora that they were welcome to stay at the Seventh Heaven for as long as they needed. Pandora was walking down the street carrying bags of shopping when she noticed Max sitting on the step with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Something on your mind?" She asked staring intently at him. Max opened his eyes and he stared back at Pandora.

"I was just thinking," Max told her, he moved up slightly so she could sit down, Pandora sat down next to him and placed her shopping at her feet she still hadn't taken her eyes off Max.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked curiously.

"Something Zack said when you were having that conversation with him after we fought Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz in Kalm." Max answered still with that thoughtful expression.

"Zack said a lot of things that time," Pandora reminded him, "Of course you were driving so you probably didn't hear much of it."

"I was dipping in and out of the conversation," Max said as he watched three kids run passed chasing a football. "Anyway, Zack hinted at some miracle that can bring back the dead," Max continued, "about the only intelligent thing he actually said."

"You know Zack, he was probably saying it to wind us up," Pandora said not thinking anymore into it.

"He sounded serious to me," Max responded, "Now that I think about it I did read something about reviving the dead in the library in the palace, I just can't remember what it was."

"What's brought all this on?" Pandora questioned.

"A week ago, I saw Cloud in the church in Midgar," Max explained, "he wished that there was some way he could bring Aerith and Zack back from the dead so he could tell them how sorry he was. Then it got me thinking, what if the book in the library and the miracle that Zack mentioned are the same thing?"

Pandora gave Max a sceptical stare, "Max, I think you're reading too much into this," she said to him not wanting to put him down, "raising the dead is beyond your capabilities."

"I know that," Max said defensively, "but if I can find that book maybe I can find out more about it."

"How?" Pandora asked him, "Our only way home is badly damaged and is currently in Reeve's workshop being fixed."

"Then we'll just have to find another way to get home," Max answered her as he leapt to his feet. "Don't worry, I'll think of something."

Pandora continued to stare at Max, "Have you told everyone else?" She asked him.

Max shook his head, "not yet, I don't want to get their hopes up," Max answered, "I'm not even sure if this will work yet."

Pandora didn't take her eyes off Max, "Max," she chose her words carefully, "I know you mean well but you could be meddling with forces you don't understand."

"I know…" Max was about to reply but the phone that Shelke gave him rang, he reached into his pocket and grabbed the phone he pushed the button and he spoke into the phone. "Hello?"

"_Hi Max it's Reeve."_

"Reeve?" Max asked the phone, "How did you…"

"_Shelke had all of Avalanche's numbers, plus the numbers of all your friends put into the phone," _Reeve explained, _"my number is also there, also I have all the numbers on my phone, anyway, how've you been my friend?"_

"Not bad," Max answered as he started pacing round in a circle, "I was just thinking."

"_Try not to think too much," _Reeve laughed, _"you don't want to overload your brain, anyway, I have something that might be of interest to you."_

Max's eyes lit up as he heard Reeve said this, "What is it?" He asked his voice was filled curiosity.

"_Come over to WRO and find out," _Reeve said wanting to keep up the suspense, _"Oh and bring the others along as well they'll find it interesting as well."_

Max nodded, "Ok Reeve, see you there." Max hung up on the phone and put it back into his pocket, Pandora was staring at him.

"Who was it?" She asked.

"It was Reeve," Max answered, "he said he's got something of interest that he wanted to show us."

"I'll get Cloud and Tifa," Pandora stated as she got up and ran into the bar to tell her two friends, Max went round the back to the garage to get his bike ready.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Midgar, Hojo had just finished the checks on the final reactor when his master approached him. "How are you getting on?" she asked as she stared at Hojo. 

Hojo grinned at her, "The eighth reactor will be fully repaired right about…" As Hojo said this the computer bleeped.

"_The eighth and final reactor is repaired and fully operational."_

"Excellent," Hojo said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "Balthazar, you may hit the final switch to get the reactor online." Balthazar immediately hit the switch in the reactor and all eight reactors came back online and the machinery within them hummed to life.

"Good," the master said as she looked at her handy work, "now we're ready for the next stage of the plan, prepare to channel the Life Stream through the reactor." Numerous buttons and switches were pressed as the cables which connected all the reactors together to the main plate glowed green as portions of the Life Stream flowed through to the reactors and a thick purple substance was released a few moments later. The master smiled at this, finally her plan was coming together all she needed now was Max and she'd be unstoppable but unknown to her was that Aerith had witnessed the whole thing and she alerted Zack immediately.

"_Zack, they're stealing the Life Stream!" _She told her boyfriend.

"_It goes into the reactors green and comes out again purple," _he observed as he watched more and more of the Life Stream disappear into the reactors and come out again a deep purple colour.

"_We have to warn Max!" _Aerith yelled urgently, _"come on!" _Aerith disappeared as she made her way to Max's head to warn him.

"_Right behind ya," _Zack said as he followed Aerith.

* * *

An hour and a half later and everyone was gathered in Reeve's workshop. 

"What's this all about?" Drogo asked as everyone was staring at Reeve.

"Yeah Reeve," Cid cut in, "Why did you have to call us at such short notice? I was just waxing the blood floor of the Sierra again because someone," he glared at Yuffie as he said this, "kept throwing up on it."

Yuffie glared back at Cid, "Hey!" She yelled at the pilot, "I resent that!"

"Will you two just shut up so we can hear what Reeve has to say?!" Cloud barked at Yuffie and Cid, they both shut up immediately, Cloud turned back to Reeve, "go ahead Reeve."

"Thank you," Reeve said gratefully, "Now I've got some good news and I've got some bad news," Reeve said, "The good news is, I've fixed some of the teleportation devices that Max gave me."

"Thanks Reeve," Max replied as he gave Reeve a thumbs up sign, "I knew you wouldn't let us down."

"However I haven't fixed them all yet," Reeve continued a little more gravely, "I still need more time."

"So what does this mean?" Lance asked Reeve, "that only some of us could get home?" There was general muttering among Max's friends and Reeve didn't even get a chance to answer, until Max held his hand out to silence them.

"No one's going anywhere just yet!" He told the group firmly, "we ended up here together and we're gonna go home together but we still have a lot of work to do here. Reeve can you pass me one of the devices please?" Max asked politely, Reeve gave Max one of the teleportation devices.

"What are you going to do Max?" Tifa asked him.

Max tapped the side of his nose slyly, "All will be revealed," he said vaguely, before anyone else could ask anymore questions Max wrapped the device round his wrist and pushed a few buttons to set the co ordinates, he then disappeared from sight and a few seconds later he reappeared in the palace workshop again on the Kitsune world. "It worked!" Max exclaimed, "now all I need to do is get to the library and find that book." Max ran out of the workshop and up the stairs to the main palace, he turned to his left and walked down the corridor and up four more flights of stairs before he entered the palace library. The library was a large, cavernous room each shelf was full to the brim with books, Max himself had read almost every single book in this library, all he had to do was find the right one. Max began searching every shelf and every nook and cranny in the library, he had been searching for two whole hours but there was still no sign of the book he was looking for. Max stood in front of a half empty book shelf.

"Ok," he whispered to himself, "I've been searching for two whole hours and still…no…sign…of that…damn…book…" Max banged his head on the shelf repeatedly as he said each word until a heavy book feel off the shelf and hit Max on the head before it landed with a thud on the floor. "Ouch!" Max cried out in pain as he rubbed his head, he looked down at the book. It was an old book, almost over 400 years old and it was bound together by leather. Back then the book would've looked grand and beautiful but now it was battered and the title of the book had been worn away. Max picked up the book and turned it over, he quickly read the page and grinned. "This is it," he said to himself, "I've found it, now to take it back to the others." Max pushed some more buttons on his device and he disappeared, a few seconds later he reappeared in Reeve's workshop holding the book.

"You took your time," Drogo muttered sarcastically, Max glared at him.

"Sorry," Max apologised to the group, "I didn't think it would take so long, I was searching for something." He held out the book so that the whole group could see it.

"What's with the book?" Barret asked Max, Max grinned at the group, then he turned to face Cloud.

"This could be the answer to your prayers," he told Cloud, Cloud stared blankly at Max then he remembered what Max was talking about.

"You really think you can do it?" Cloud asked his expression turned hopeful.

Max nodded, "yeah, if we follow the instructions carefully it just might work," Max said reassuringly.

"What might work?" Tifa asked Max, Max grinned at her.

"Tifa, how would like to see a couple of old friends again?" He asked curiously.

"I'd really like that," Tifa answered, "why do you ask?"

"I may have a way to bring Zack and Aerith back to life," Max answered, just as he said this he heard voices in his head.

"_Speak of the devils," _Dark Max muttered rolling his eyes, _"here they come." _

"_Max," _Aerith called out Max's name, _"you have to help us, something's happened!" _She told Max, her voice was filled with urgency.

"_What happened?" _Max asked the Cetra.

"_The Life Stream is disappearing," _Aerith answered him, _"I don't know how to explain it."_

"_I do," _Zack cut in.

"_What's going on Zack?" _Max turned his attention to the ex SOLDIER.

"_The Life Stream is being sucked into the reactors a tiny bit at a time," _Zack took over from Aerith._ "It enters the reactors pure and green like it should be and a few moments later it comes out again purple."_

"_Purple?" _Max asked looking confused.

"_I think the Life Stream is being corrupted," _Aerith said, _"It's not the first time it's happened."_

"_You can purify it again, right?" _Max asked Aerith.

"_Last time, the Life Stream was corrupted all at once," _Aerith answered, _"So it was easier to purify it, but this time it's being corrupted a bit at time. Even if I do purify the Life Stream more and more of it will get corrupted."_

"_You said that the Life Stream was being channelled through some reactors?" _Max questioned, _"where?"_

"_In Midgar," _Zack and Aerith answered.

"_Midgar," _Max mused, _"I thought that that place was practically in ruins and that the reactors were destroyed."_

"_The reactors were destroyed," _Aerith said, _"someone's been repairing them."_

"_Hojo," _Zack added, _"I wouldn't put it passed him to get the reactors up and running again."_

"_Don't worry," _Max reassured them, _"we'll do something about it."_

"_Hey Max?" _Zack asked Max, _"Is it ok if we stay in your head for a while?"_

"_Oh joy," _Dark Max mumbled, _"I get to share Max's head with an idiot and a know it all Cetra."_

"_Shut up Dark!" _Max yelled at his dark side, _"or you'll go back in The Cage!"_

"_Sure there's plenty of room for the three of us," _Dark Max said quickly not wanting to put in The Cage again.

"_Good," _Max replied satisfied, _"Don't worry guys," _Max reassured Aerith and Zack, _"we'll put a stop to this."_

"_Thanks Max," _Aerith and Zack said in unison and they stopped talking to him.

"Max is there something wrong?" Max opened his eyes and he saw Cloud staring at him a look of concern on his face.

"I'm fine," Max replied, he placed the book on to the table and he began to read it. He flicked through the book until he found the right page, "Aaahhh, here it is," Max stated and he began to read the page. "Hmmm, this is a highly complicated spell."

"What's it say?" Pandora asked him.

"It says, to revive your fallen heroes you need the following items," Max answered and he read the list of items needed. "Hmmm…Desert Rose…I've never even heard of that."

"We have," Tifa replied, "although a desert rose is very hard to come by, but if we look hard enough we may be able to find one.

"Earth Harp and Guide Book," Max continued to read the list. "Again, they're new to me."

"Don't worry," Tifa reassured Max, "we'll find them for you."

"The old man in Kalm," Cloud reminded Tifa, "he asked for those three items remember?"

Tifa nodded, "yeah," she replied.

"Maybe he still has the ones we gave him," Cloud explained, "if we ask him to lend them to us I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Ok," Max agreed, "so that's three items out of the way already, ok the next item is…White Materia…"

"Leave that to us," Cloud said to Max.

"Ok, and the next four items we need are," Max read the last four items on the list. "Nymphs blood, no problem I know where to get that. Phoenix feather, again easy to get, a silver dragon scale. That's gonna be a pain in the ass, and finally a hair from a Kitsune's tail, hmmm…" Max almost cried out in pain as he felt something pull on one of his tails, he looked behind him and saw Drogo standing there with a triumphant grin on his face hold one of Max's tail hairs.

"Well that's one item out of the way," Drogo remarked as Max glared at him.

"Yeah, you could've found a less painful way of doing it," Max complained as he rubbed his tail.

"Oh quit your whining," Drogo said mockingly, "we got one of the items needed didn't we, we just need to get the other seven."

"Right," Max agreed, "Cloud Tifa, you take care of the Earth Harp, Desert Rose, Guide Book and the White Materia, I'll get the rest."

Cloud and Tifa walked out of Reeve's workshop and Max used his device to warp back to the Kitsune world. Two hours later and all three of them returned, "Ok," Cloud informed the group, "we've got the Desert Rose, the Guide Book, the Earth Harp and the White Materia."

"And I've got the Nymph's blood, the Phoenix feather, the Dragon scale and…" Max looks back painfully at his middle tail as he says this. "A hair from one of my tails…" Everyone laughed at Max when he said this.

"So what now?" Angel asked as she stared at Max.

"We need to find a suitable place to carry out the spell," Max answered as he looked around at everyone for suggestions.

"How about Cosmo Canyon?" Red suggested, "you could cast the spell next to the Cosmo Candle."

"That's a great idea," Tifa agreed, "Thanks Red."

Red nodded, "Anytime."

Everyone filed out of the workshop but Max stayed behind for moment to talk to Reeve. "Thanks Reeve," Max said gratefully.

Reeve smiled at the Kitsune, "I'm just glad I could help," Reeve replied modestly, "I'll get to work at fixing the rest of these device, you should catch up with the others."

Max nodded, "Yeah, you're right, thanks again Reeve," Max thanked Reeve again and he ran out of the workshop and caught up with the others. An hour later and the Sierra landed outside Cosmo Canyon. Red XIII ran up the steps to the canyon and he was already sat at the candle when the others had caught up with him.

"Damn beast!" Cid cursed loudly which earned him another evil glare off Angel, but she didn't say anything because she knew that Cid would just ignore her. "Slow down will ya? Some of us aren't as young or energetic as we used to be!"

"Speak for yourself!" Nightshade yelled at Cid, "you don't have to drag seven tails behind you like a dead weight!" Nightshade pointed to his seven tails as he said this.

"Can we just get on with this?" Max asked firmly and Nightshade and Cid immediately shut up. Max continued to read the book. "It says here that the spell is so strong that it requires four spell casters."

"I'll help," Pandora volunteered and she walked up to Max.

"We'll help too," Sunny and Angel said in unison as they joined Max and Pandora next to the candle, Cloud handed Max the items and he spread them out evenly.

Then he, Pandora, Angel and Sunny sat down round the flame and held hands they closed their eyes and concentrated. The four spell casters glowed brightly as the eight items levitated in mid air and began to spin round the spell casters going faster and faster. Eventually the White Materia floated to the middle hovering above the spell casters and the candle as the other seven items whizzed round it creating a large circle. The White Materia emitted a bright green glow and the items around it also glowed. Everyone else watching them had to shield their eyes because the glow was so bright. Max, Pandora, Angel and Sunny focused even harder as they could feel the magical properties of the items pulsing through them, almost as if they became one with the items. They saw themselves surrounded by green and spirits floating round them, countless spirits and still the four spell casters concentrated as if they were searching, searching for the souls they were going to revive and then they found them, two spirits that were glowing green to match the aura of the items around them. The spell casters, and the people watching them were surrounded by a bright, white glare.

"_Is it over?" _Was the question on everyone's minds. Max, Pandora, Sunny, Angel and everyone else slowly opened their eyes to see that the white and green glows had completely disappeared and the items had stopped levitating and slowly started to descend to the ground.

"Did it work?" Sunny asked as she, Max, Pandora and Angel slowly released their hands and stood up.

"Looks like we're just in time for the party," a male voice suddenly spoke behind them. Everyone turned round to see two people stood there. One of them was a young woman wearing a pink dress, she had bright green eyes and long brown hair that was tied into a ponytail and plaited, she smiled warmly at the group. The other was a young man with dark blue eyes that glowed vividly, they were Mako eyes. He had wild spiky hair that was as black as night and he wore a dark blue SOLDIER uniform, he had a playful grin on his face.

"Aerith…Zack…" Cloud uttered as he stared from both Aerith and Zack.

"It's good to see you again Cloud," Aerith spoke in her usual soft voice, "And the rest of you too."

Zack slowly stretched himself as he began to get used to his body again, "it feels good to be alive again after all these years," he said happily, he then noticed Max again for the first time, "but I am gonna miss talking in your head."

Max laughed, "I'm just glad that you and Dark won't be having anymore mental battles in my head."

Zack's grin grew wider, "It was friendly banter," he said playfully.

"It sounded like it too," Max muttered sarcastically.

"Ha ha," Zack laughed just as sarcastically, "I've forgotten how to laugh."

Cloud also laughed, he hadn't forgotten his friend's sense of humour, nor had he forgotten the sacrifice Zack made to protect him. "It's good to see you again too Zack," Cloud said glad to finally see his friend again.

Zack grinned at Cloud, "yeah, it's good to see you too Cloud," Zack said back, "come here big lug!" Zack quickly grabbed Cloud round the neck with one hand and he gave Cloud a knuggie. Cloud struggled wildly against Zack's strong grip, he hated it when Zack gave him knuggies, but it was just the SOLDIER's way of being friendly.

"Zack…" Cloud started choking, "…can't…breathe…"

Zack realised this and he quickly released Cloud, "Oh sorry buddy," Zack apologised to Cloud, "I forgot you didn't like knuggies, I guess I just got caught up in the moment there." Zack looked up as he realised that everyone was staring at him, Red walked up to Zack and looked up intently at him.

"So you're Zack," he said musingly, Zack nodded, "Cloud's told us a lot about you."

"Has he?" Zack asked as he gave Cloud a fleeting glance, "nothing embarrassing I hope."

Cloud gave Zack a sheepish grin but Red spoke up, "only that you looked out for him a lot and that you died to save him."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "I also heard that he actually thought he was me."

"Err…" Cloud began nervously knowing all too well how strong Zack was, "about that you see…I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time and…"

Zack burst out laughing, "will you just relax Strife, man you're so up tight sometimes anyone would think that I'm like this superior being or something."

Cloud stared at Zack, "You mean you're not mad?"

Zack shook his head, "nah," he answered, "I just found it hilarious every time you acted like me."

"It's true," Aerith added, "he couldn't stop laughing at one point."

"Hey, I had to get my entertainment from somewhere," Zack defended himself. "Besides, he became a mercenary didn't he?"

Cloud nodded, "yeah, but it wasn't my dream though."

"My dream, your dream," Zack answered, "it doesn't matter as long as it was fulfilled."

Cloud smiled, "I guess you're right."

Tifa meanwhile was staring at Aerith, unsure of what to say, "hi Aerith…" she replied nervously.

"It's good to see you again Tifa," the Cetra said.

Tifa wasn't sure of what to make of this, although she was secretly jealous of Aerith at one point because she always knew exactly what to say to Cloud. But she knew that there was no need to be jealous of Aerith now that Aerith had Zack, and Tifa had Cloud, the way it was meant to be. Tifa stared at Aerith for a few moments and then the two women hugged. "Oh Aerith…" Tifa sobbed into the other woman's arms, "I missed you so much, we all did…"

"I know you did Tifa," Aerith said as she comforted Tifa. Eventually the two women broke apart and smiled at each other. Everyone spent the next half hour hugging Aerith and making acquaintances with Zack, eventually Max had had enough.

"Ehem!" He cleared his throat loudly and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

Aerith and Zack smiled at Max, "Thanks Max," they said in unison.

Max nodded, "anytime," he replied.

"As much as I love a reunion," Cid spoke up, "I think it's time we start heading back and plan our next course of action, besides, I'd like to show Aerith and Zack my pride and joy." Aerith and Zack stared at Cid for a minute and then Cid burst out laughing. "I meant my airship," he added quickly still laughing at the expressions on Zack and Aerith's faces. "As much as I love Shera, I'm not ready for fatherhood yet."

Everyone left Cosmo Canyon in light spirits as they were joined by their two new allies, ten minutes later and they were on the Sierra.

"Wow!" Zack exclaimed as he and Aerith looked round the Sierra, "this airship is cool!"

"It's even more advanced than the Highwind!" Aerith added, she too was unable to contain her excitement.

"Yeah," Cid agreed proudly, "unfortunately the Highwind had to go into retirement, but now we have this baby and…" Pauses when he hears the sound of cogs being tampered with. "Damn it!" Cid yelled, "I thought I told Max to leave that damn engine room alone!" Cid pressed a button on the intercom and yelled through it. "Max! Get out of that engine room now!" Everyone on the airship laughed, as Max darted out of the engine room and ran into his and Pandora's room. Cid turned to Aerith and Zack, "Sorry about that, but if I've told that bloody Kitsune once I've told him enough times. Anyway, I'll have to sort out a room for you two, that is if you don't mind sharing."

Aerith smiled at Cid, "We don't mind."

Cid smiled back, "good," he replied happily, "well we better get back to the ruddy WRO no doubt Rufus will probably have something worth mentioning for once."

Zack stared at Cid, "Rufus…" He asked hardly daring to believe what he was hearing, "Rufus Shinra…"

Cid nodded, "yeah, you heard me correctly."

Zack gritted his teeth as he heard that name, "how can you work for that man after everything he's done!?" Zack asked still glaring angrily at Cid.

"Look Zack, as much as I hate to admit it myself, Rufus is a changed man."

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it," Zack muttered under his breath.

"Zack I know this must be hard for you," Aerith said as she placed her hand on Zack's shoulder, "but please try to get along with Rufus ok."

Aerith pouted at Zack, he initially tried to turn away but he knew that he couldn't resist that look, "alright," he gave in as Aerith smiled, "but I'm not promising anything," he pouted back at Aerith, "and I invented that look, I can't believe you used it against me."

Aerith gave Zack a little dig in the stomach before she left the bridge, "you coming?!" She called after him, Zack smiled and he ran out of the room after her. Cid sighed but he couldn't help but smile as he piloted the airship back to WRO.

* * *

Meanwhile Max was in his and Pandora's room lying spread eagled on the bed staring at the ceiling. He was still greatly disturbed at what he heard, the Life Stream was being corrupted, Max knew all too well what it meant and he knew that it couldn't have been good. 

"_What's happening?" _Max asked himself. _"What does it all mean? Who's doing this?" _Max didn't get an answer right a way but he already knew what the answer was going to be.

"_That is something you'll have to discover yourself," _Aurora spoke in Max's mind.

"_Somehow I knew you were gonna say that mum," _Max replied.

"_Still you can't take Aerith and Zack's warning lightly, but now that they're alive again I have a feeling that they can help you, Aerith has her Cetra powers. Zack has his SOLDIER training, his skills with a sword and his physical strength. Plus other powers he'll have acquired in the Life Stream."_

"_I know," _Max agreed, _"At this moment in time, we need all the help we can get."_

"_But for now, rest my son," _Aurora said before her voice disappeared from his head. Max sighed, he was aware of the voices of the planet screaming in pain and he was sure that Aerith was as well. But there was something else as well, something else that had been haunting him for a while. He didn't even know who was behind all of this, he had a rough idea of what these people were planning but not much, however he also got the feeling that these plans involved him in some way, how they involved him he wasn't sure, but he knew that whatever it was it wasn't going to be to his benefit. Max scratched his head as he had a puzzled expression on his face.

"_Wherever you are," _He said to himself, _"and whoever you are, I will find you, and I will put a stop to your plans. I won't let you take this planet."_

* * *

**Chapter 19 is complete, phew this is turning out to be a long story. The pieces should hopefully start to fall into place, a slowly corrupting Life Stream and a resurrection. Yes I had a resurrection in my story, I know it's probably breaking some rules but I really don't care. After all there are plenty of Final Fantasy VII fanfics out there which have Aerith or another** **character being brought back to life in someway shape or form. My purposes for bringing Zack and Aerith back to life…I haven't decided yet, but I do have a purpose for them even if you can't see it. Chapter 20 will be coming soon and please feel free to comment or post a review as long as it's constructive criticism. I don't want people bad mouthing my story and not giving a good reason for it, enjoy.**


	20. Max's Nightmare

**Chapter 20: Max's Nightmare**

Max had almost drifted off to sleep despite recent events haunting his mind, he sat up and looked at the clock at the side of the bed, and he sighed. "It's been a whole hour since we were at Cosmo Canyon," he said, "I wonder where we are now," Max shrugged his shoulders, "I guess Cid will let us know when we're nearly there," he told himself as he lay back down again and closed his eyes. Max had almost fallen asleep again when he felt someone shake him.

"Wake up Max!" A familiar voice rang in his ears, Max opened his eyes slowly and he saw Pandora standing over him.

"Pandora…" Max uttered as he sat up and yawned.

"Cid told me to tell you that we're nearly at WRO," Pandora informed Max, Max swung his legs round to the edge of the bed, he grabbed his boots that were at the foot of the bed and he put them on his feet and fastened them.

"That's good," Max replied as he slowly stood up, "there's something I have to tell Rufus."

Pandora stared at Max, "What do you mean there's something you have to tell Rufus?" Pandora questioned.

Max placed his hands on Pandora's shoulders and he smiled to reassure her, he didn't want to tell her just yet, he didn't want to worry her. "I'll explain when we get back to WRO," was all he told her, _"it's better to be vague for now," _he said in his head, _"at least until I'm sure about what's going on."_

Pandora glared at Max, "Max, I'm your wife," she reminded him, "if there's something troubling you, you should tell me, so I can help you."

Max kissed Pandora on the lips to reassure her, "I'm fine, it's just that there are things on my mind, it's nothing to worry about."

Pandora gave Max another sceptical stare but she knew Max well enough to know that he wasn't one to always open up and admit his feelings, she sighed. "Alright, but if there is something wrong you'll let me know won't you?" She asked her face was filled with concern.

Max smiled at her and he kissed her again on the lips, "Don't worry," he said reassuringly as he stroked the side of Pandora's face, "I'll tell you if there's something wrong."

Pandora smiled back, "good," she replied and she started to walk out of the room, "we better make our way to the bridge." Max followed Pandora out of the room and they made their way to the bridge where everyone else was waiting. Ten minutes later and the Sierra had landed in the WRO grounds, the group got off the Sierra and walked into the lobby where a young cute looking blonde woman was sat at the reception desk, the woman looked up and grinned at the group, Zack grinned back at her and he slowly walked up to the desk.

"Hi," he said in a friendly manner to the receptionist.

The receptionist smiled at him again, "hi," she replied just as friendly, "I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?"

Zack nodded, "yeah," he replied casually as he rested his hand on the desk and ran his other hand through his spiky hair. "I've been around you know, seen all kinds of exotic places, seen many things that you won't have seen…"

The receptionist stared at him, obviously intrigued, "are you an explorer?" she asked.

Zack's grin grew wider when he heard this, "I guess you could say that," he answered, "I'm a mercenary, but before that I was in SOLDIER."

"Really…" the receptionist asked playfully as she started to flirt with Zack more, Zack nodded and he started telling her about everything that he did while he was in SOLDIER, of course he greatly exaggerated some parts.

"So there I was against five of the biggest, meanest, ugliest Behemoths to ever walk this Earth…" Zack told his tale using elaborate gestures to add dramatic effect, the receptionist was hanging on his every word, while his friends just stood there watching. "I was completely surrounded, Behemoths to the left of me," he pointed left, "Behemoths to the right of me," he pointed right. "Ten mouths with great big fangs were snapping at me, but I wasn't scared, oh no."

"Then what happened?" The receptionist asked him not taking her eyes off him.

"Well…" Zack continued, "with my amazing skills I was able to over come my foes, with my sword I slashed away at them, striking to the left and the right and hitting them with deadly accuracy! Of course I didn't see one sneaking up behind me," Zack crept slowly up to the reception desk, "closer and closer it came it's beady red eyes were focused up on me, it's jaws snapped up and down as it came closer until POW!" Zack leapt on to the reception desk as he said this causing the receptionist to gasp. "Of course, I was way too quick for it," Zack boasted as the receptionist stared admiringly at him. "I leapt to the side and grabbed it by the tail as it sped passed. I lifted it over my head and swung it round and round, going faster and faster, when I finally let go it disappeared from sight. After twenty minutes I was surrounded by the bloody corpses of fifteen Behemoths, and thanks to me there were twenty less Behemoths in the world." Zack leapt off the reception desk again when he had finished, the receptionist smiled at him.

"Wow!" She exclaimed as she stood up and got closer to Zack, "you know, I could really use a strong, handsome man like you."

Zack grinned at her, "Really…" He asked, then a little voice suddenly spoke up in Zack's head, _"What the hell do you think you're doing? You're with Aerith now, you're supposed to be a one woman man and here you are flirting, Aerith's gonna kill you for this!" _Zack listened to the little voice in his head and he started to back away from the receptionist slightly, and he decided to talk about a less dangerous topic, but it didn't really work. Little did Zack know was that Aerith was stood behind him gritting her teeth.

Tifa saw this and she spoke to Aerith, "Aerith, are you ok?" She asked her friend.

"I'm fine…" Aerith said through gritted teeth, "Excuse me for a moment," Aerith walked passed the group and over to the reception desk where Zack was talking to the receptionist, she reached out, grabbed Zack by the ear and started dragging him away.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Zack cried out in pain as Aerith dragged him back towards the group, "you're hurting my ear!"

"Good," Aerith replied as she finally let go of his ear, "how could you do that to me?"

"Alright," Zack confessed, there was no point in denying it since everyone saw him flirting with the receptionist. "I was flirting with her, I can't help myself, but then when I heard the little voice in my head I realised what I was doing and I tried to back off." Aerith turned away from him and she folded her arms, "It's true I swear," Zack defended himself. "I'm with you now, I know I flirt with other women from time to time but I'd never ever in my right mind cheat on you." Zack walked round Aerith until he was facing her, but when she still refused to look at him he placed his finger under her chin and pushed her face up to look at him. Aerith looked into his eyes and she saw that his expression was sincere, but she wanted more proof, Zack knew this so he continued, "remember when I went away on that mission to Nibelheim?" Zack asked Aerith.

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she answered.

"Well, I was on my back to Midgar to see you when I was killed," Zack replied, "I was imprisoned for five years and experimented on by Hojo, five years is a long time, I could've easily forgotten you, but I didn't. All that time I thought about coming back to you, it was the thought of you that kept me going all those years, the thought of you that stopped me from going insane."

Aerith smiled at Zack, she knew that even though he was a flirt he'd still remain loyal to her, she wrapped her arms round his neck and hugged him, "I know you wouldn't cheat on me," she told Zack, "but I wish you wouldn't flirt with other women, it drives me mad."

Zack smiled back, "I'll restrain myself from now on," Zack reassured Aerith, satisfied Aerith and Zack walked back to the rest of the group just as Rufus entered the lobby, Zack glared at Rufus and he gritted his teeth, it was no secret that Zack bore hatred for this man despite the fact that he had reformed.

"Ah, so you've finally arrived," Rufus greeted them all, "I see you have two new allies," he turned his attention to Aerith and Zack who was resisting the urge to not run up and knock Rufus through the nearest wall. "I guess the reason why you all took so long was because you all decided to have a touching moment."

"Oh I'll give him a touching moment…" Zack said through gritted teeth as he flexed his muscles and started to walk towards Rufus. It took the combined efforts of Cloud and Max to hold him down.

"Zack," Cloud told his friend as he grabbed hold of Zack's left arm to hold him back, "please just leave it…Rufus is a good guy now."

"Cloud's right…" Max agreed with Cloud as he grabbed hold of Zack's right arm and started dragging the newly revived ex SOLDIER back. "Shit…he's strong…"

Despite Cloud and Max's combined efforts they couldn't completely stop Zack and he slowly made his way closer and closer to Rufus. Reno and Rude quickly stepped in front of Rufus. "I know we're on the same side and all," Reno spoke calmly but he had his nightstick ready to shock Zack if he need to. Rude was also stood in a fighting stance holding his fists out. "But we have still have a sworn duty to protect Rufus at any cost and we'll use whatever force necessary to stop you from harming him."

Zack glared at Reno and Rude, "so the ex president is still hiding behind his goons," Zack spat vehemently.

"The Turks are nothing like they used to be," Reno told Zack, "ok I admit that we were after you when you broke out of the Shinra Mansion basement, but we didn't want to kill you." Zack still glared at Reno and Rude and he still fought against the hold Max and Cloud had on him, Aerith came running up to Zack.

"Please Zack," she pleaded with her boyfriend, tears welled in her eyes, she hated seeing him like this, but at the same time she knew why he was angry. Shinra had ruined his life to the point where he lost it and she understood why Zack wanted to kick the shit out of Rufus, but she also knew that Rufus was sorry for everything that he and his company had done. "I know Shinra have hurt you in the past but Rufus is trying his best to restore the planet to what it once was, you were in the Life Stream too, you saw everything that happened. Or did the anger you felt for Shinra blind you?"

Zack hung his head, he knew that Aerith was right, she was always right, he stopped in his tracks and breathed heavily, waiting for the anger inside him to die down. Once it did Max and Cloud released him and Zack ran his hand through his hair, "you're right Aerith," he said, "I shouldn't let my personal issues get in the way. I want to help the planet too, even if it means working with someone who was once my enemy." Reno and Rude stepped away from Rufus and Rufus walked up to Zack.

"Believe me Zack," he said by way of apology, "I know at times I was an even more cruel president than my father, but now that I look back on it I see all the terrible things that have been done in the name of Shinra. I want you to know that I knew nothing about the experiments that Hojo conducted on you and Cloud at the time, I know you hate my guts right now, but we're on the same side now, so can we please try to get along or I'll have to ask Reno and Rude to restrain you." Zack nodded, he didn't like it but he knew that Rufus was right and that in order to save the planet from this new threat they had to work together.

"Fine," he gave in, "I'll co operate, but I'm doing it for Aerith, not you." Rufus nodded to show that he understood, Max walked up to Rufus.

"Rufus, is it ok if we hold a meeting? There's something I want to tell everyone," Max asked Rufus.

"What is it?" Rufus questioned.

"I'll tell everyone in the meeting room," Max answered.

Ten minutes later and everyone was sat in the meeting room, "So what's this all about Max?" Barret asked as he banged his fist on the table.

"Yeah," Sunny agreed with Barret, "you look worried," she told Max, she had a concerned expression on her face.

"There's something I have to tell you guys," Max answered, "The Life Stream is being corrupted."

"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room except Max, Aerith and Zack yelled at once.

"What do ya mean the bloody Life Stream's been corrupted!" Cid cursed loudly, like everyone else Cid was focused on Max.

"Well…" Max with the help of Zack and Aerith explained what was going on, how the reactors in Midgar had been rebuilt and is sucking in the Life Stream small amounts at a time.

"I thought the reactors in Midgar were destroyed," Tifa spoke up after Max, Zack and Aerith had finished their explanation.

"Hojo could've easily repaired them," Vincent replied, his voice and expression were as sombre as ever.

"Yeah, great Vincent," Drogo muttered sarcastically while rolling his eyes, "you and Isis would be great at a party."

"I don't do parties," Isis stated miserably and she glared at Drogo.

"Gee, no wonder you're always so miserable," Drogo mumbled under his breath, he could barely be heard.

"The question is," Cloud asked looking round the room at everyone. "What do we do about it?"

"Hmmm," Rufus thought for a while, "I have no doubt that Hojo's master would've ordered him to put extra security in the reactors, which means breaking into them could be tricky."

"There has to be a way to infiltrate the reactors," Angel cut in as she looked around the room hoping people would give some suggestions.

Barret looked at Zack, "You're an ex SOLDIER right?" He asked Zack.

Zack nodded, "yeah, but I haven't been in a reactor since the Nibelheim incident," he answered, "it's like..." Zack tried to think of something nasty he could call Rufus but a quick glare from Aerith made him think twice. "Rufus said, Hojo could've easily added some extra security to the reactors."

"We'll find a way to infiltrate the reactors," Tifa reassured everyone, "we've been through worse than this."

"What can be worse than a Necromancer who's slowly corrupting the very life force of the planet?" Max asked as he stared at Tifa.

"You know what I mean!" Tifa snapped as she glared at Max.

While Max and Tifa were arguing, Zack started creating knives in his hands and threw them at the wall causing them to stick into the wall. "Zack stop creating knives and throwing them," Cloud told Zack off, "Huh?" Cloud looked in Zack's direction.

Zack merely shrugged in response, "what?" He asked as he realised that everyone in the room was staring at him.

"Wait," Cloud said to Zack, "do that again."

"Do what again?" Zack asked.

"Create a knife," Cloud answered, Zack held his hand out, a bright green light flared in his hand, a few seconds later a knife appeared in Zack's hand. Everyone except Zack and Aerith gasped at this.

"Amazing," Vincent stated, "it seems that Zack has a hammerspace ability."

"Yeah," Zack cut in, "pretty neat huh?"

"You knew about it?" Cloud asked the ex SOLDIER.

Zack nodded, "yeah," he answered as he grinned at Cloud, "I guess it's because I spent all that time in the Life Stream."

"So I guess this means you have a dimension too," Max added.

Zack nodded and he smiled at the Kitsune, "yeah, I guess you could say that."

"So can you only create knives?" Lance asked Zack, "or can you create other weapons as well?"

Zack stood up and his grin grew wider, "I can create any weapon I wanted, here watch this." Zack held both his arms out and a green water like substance flowed through his arms down to his hands, a few seconds later two large Buster swords appeared, one in each hand. The weapons were almost as tall as Zack was and they looked too heavy to use, but Zack held them with ease.

"How can you carry those things?" Angel asked as she and everyone else stared at Zack in awe.

The swords disappeared as quickly as they appeared, "oh that's easy," Zack answered, "I was trained in using broadswords."

"Cool!" Drogo exclaimed, "so what other abilities do you have?"

Zack grinned slyly and he tapped his nose, "that's for me to know and you to find out," he said vaguely.

"Anyway…" Rufus cut in before anyone else could say anything and they all sat down again. Zack placed both his feet on the table, put his arms round the back of his head and leant back on his chair much to Rufus' chagrin. "We have to figure out how to put a stop to this operation."

"Apart from espionage," Reno asked, "what else do you suggest?"

"Midgar is even more dangerous now than it was before Meteor," Cloud told the Turk.

"Cloud is right," Isis added, "I estimate that there has been a 50 rise in monster activity in the past week."

"Again Isis," Drogo muttered sarcastically earning him an evil glare from the cybernetic feline, "you'll be great a party."

Isis was about to respond with a comeback of her own but she was interrupted, "will you two just shut up?!" Max yelled causing everyone to stare at him in a stunned silence, "you're constant arguing is giving me a headache, Drogo!" He glared at Drogo, "stop with the sarcastic comments, Isis!" He then glared at Isis, "stop being miserable and stop predicting the success and failure of everything, you're not a robot for Christ sake!" Max sat back down again as he could feel everyone's eyes on him, Rufus immediately cleared his throat.

"I think we should put this meeting on hold for a while," he sensibly suggested, "give everyone a chance to calm down and think logically about the situation." Everyone got up from their seats and walked out of the meeting room, Max walked out of the lobby and into the grounds. He spotted an alcove eight floors above him, with a single leap he landed on the alcove and sat down, he looked out to the horizon just in time to see the sun setting. He looked East to where Edge was and he looked even further East to see the ruins of Midgar and Max's heart sank as he saw more of the Life Stream being forced into the reactors and coming out that horrible dark purple colour and the clouds surrounding Midgar grew thicker.

Max sighed, _"Why's this happening?" _He asked himself, _"there's no way we can stop this, more and more of the Life Stream is being corrupted every moment." _But the corrupted Life Stream wasn't the only thing on his mind, he was being constantly haunted by what his foes were planning to do. _"What does it all mean? What could they possibly have planned for this planet, apart from shrouding it in darkness?" _Max didn't ponder about it for long as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"_Huh? Where am I?" Max woke up to find himself in a strange but beautiful place, he slowly staggered to his feet and looked at his surroundings, on closer examination he saw that he was in a garden, he was standing under a large blossom tree, every single one of its branches were covered with pink and white blossoms. He looked to his right and he saw a river which led to a lake. He turned to his left and he saw a large marble bird bath with a couple of birds bathing in it, the garden didn't look at all familiar to him. "I guess I'm not in WRO anymore," He said to himself, Max could hear the sound of someone singing in the distance, he walked further into the garden following the source of the sound. He eventually came up to a white bench underneath another blossom tree and there sat on the bench was none other than…_

"_Pandora!" Max called out Pandora's name as he ran up to her, Pandora immediately stopped singing, she opened her eyes and smiled as she saw Max approach her. She stood up and ran up to him and she leapt into his arms and the two were locked in an embrace. Max stared into Pandora's pink eyes with his own blue eyes, Pandora's expression then changed to a confused one._

"_Where are we?" She asked, still not letting go of Max._

"_I don't know," Max answered her, "but whatever this place is I don't want to leave it, not yet anyway." He smiled at Pandora, "What were you singing anyway?"_

_Pandora blushed, "it's nothing," she replied obviously embarrassed._

"_Come on tell me," Max pleaded with Pandora._

"_It's just a song I made up," she answered._

"_Well it's a beautiful song," Max complimented her, "and you have such a beautiful voice," Pandora smiled at him._

"_You really think so?" She asked staring hopefully into Max's eyes._

_Max nodded, "definitely," he replied, he looked around him and he saw that they were the only two people there, "you know, we're finally alone here, it's just the two of us."  
_

"_There's no one else here?" Pandora questioned._

_Max shook his head, "see for yourself," he told her, Pandora looked all around her and she that there was nothing there except for a few birds. She smiled at Max and he smiled back at her, Max wrapped his arms tighter round Pandora's waist, the two came even closer together until their faces were almost touching. However Max sensed that there was something off and he opened his eyes to see Pandora stood there, her eyes were wide open and glazed with pain. Her mouth was also wide open as if she was trying to cry out in pain but for some reason no sound came out. "Pandora…" Max whispered his face was filled with concern, he had seen this before, when he was shot. Pandora didn't answer him, Max looked down and he saw blood trickling from a wound in Pandora's side, he saw a sword sticking into the wound, he followed the sword up and to his horror he saw Balthazar standing there holding the sword._

"_Balthazar!" Max yelled at his evil uncle._

"_I told you I'd get my revenge," Balthazar replied calmly, he wasn't fazed by this at all, "and it looks like Pandora got what she deserved."_

"_Balthazar you bastard!" Max continued to yell at Balthazar, but all he could do was glare at him, he didn't want to let go of Pandora._

"_Oh don't worry Max," Balthazar told his nephew, "soon you'll suffer the same fate as your beloved wife." Balthazar twisted the sword slightly in Pandora's wound, doubling the pain before he removed it and walked off with a smug smile on his face. Pandora slumped forward and she would've fallen to the ground if Max hadn't have had hold of her. "Pandora…" Max called out her name again, Pandora stared up at Max her eyes were still glazed with pain. Max couldn't bear to see her like that. Pandora coughed and tiny specks of blood flew out of her mouth and landed on Max's shirt._

"…_Max…" She whispered weakly calling out Max's name._

"_It's ok," Max reassured her even though he could feel the tears burning in his eyes. "I'm here."_

"…_Goodbye…Max…" Pandora uttered as she felt the last of her strength leave her, her eyes rolled into her head before they slowly closed never to open again, she breathed her last breath before she stopped moving completely. Max eased Pandora slowly to the ground and he took hold of her in his arms._

"_Pandora…" Max whispered her name and gently shook her but she didn't respond, Max felt a sudden pain in his heart like a part of him was missing. It was at that moment that he realised that Pandora was dead. "No…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Max yelled his anguish to the heavens as the realisation that the woman he loved was gone and that a part of him had died with her. He cradled Pandora in his arms and he felt the tears burn in his eyes once more as he cried into Pandora's chest. How long he was like that for he didn't know but he was sure that somewhere in the distance someone was calling his name._

"_Max…"_

"_Leave me alone…"_

"_Max…"_

"_Please go away, leave me alone with my pain…"_

MAX!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Max screamed as he woke up, his body was dripping with cold sweat and he was breathing heavily, he looked around him and he saw that he was back on the alcove again, Max started to relax. "It was just a dream…" he whispered to himself.

"What was a dream?"

Max looked up and he saw Pandora hovering in front of him, she looked perfectly normal and she had no wounds on her anywhere. "Pandora…" Max uttered her name, he couldn't help but be relieved, "you're alive…"

Pandora gave Max a confused stare, "of course I'm alive," she stated, "why wouldn't I be?"

"It's nothing," Max answered, he didn't want to tell her that he had a dream about her dying, he didn't want to worry Pandora.

"It didn't sound like nothing to me," Pandora told him, Max stared at her, "I was searching everywhere for you," Pandora explained, "then I heard the sound of someone moaning, it came from high up so I flew up here to investigate. I saw you tossing and turning and I heard you call out my name."

"You did?" Max asked Pandora.

Pandora nodded, "yeah," she replied, "you had me worried."

"Oh sorry," Max apologised, "I didn't mean to worry you."

"You must've been out for some time," Pandora remarked, she knew that he didn't want to talk about it, so she decided to let it drop.

Max ran his hand through his hair, he looked out to see that the sky was now completely dark, the moon and the stars were shining brightly in the night sky, "well I'll be damned," he laughed out loud, he couldn't help but express his relief that Pandora was still alive. "I guess I was out for a while." Pandora smiled and then she yawned.

"Well it's getting late," she said sleepily, "I think I'm gonna go to bed, you coming?"

Max shook his head, "you go on ahead, I don't think I'll be able to sleep, but I'll catch up with you later." Pandora sighed slightly but she knew that Max was right, he wouldn't be able to sleep now.

"I'll be in our room if you change your mind," Pandora told him and she flew off. Max sighed and shook his head, still trying to get over the shock of his nightmare. _"It was just a dream," _Max reassured himself, _"nothing's gonna happen to Pandora as long as I protect her." _

"_That's what you said before," _Dark Max cut in, _"and look what happened."_

"_I saved her didn't I?" _Max questioned his dark side.

"_Yeah, right after you came to your senses," _Dark Max remarked.

"_Thanks Dark, your words of wisdom fill me with so much confidence," _Max muttered sarcastically.

"_You're welcome," _Dark Max said just as sarcastically.

"_But what if it's a sign?" _Max asked himself half expecting the worst.

"_Or you could just be reading too much into it," _Aurora suggested helpfully.

"_Ok," _Max theorised, _"it could have just been a dream, but say it wasn't and I did nothing, could I live with the guilt knowing what could've happened and not doing anything about it."_

"_Kitsune's do have vivid dreams sometimes," _Aurora informed Max, _"but it doesn't mean that they are visions of the future, you're dream is just a manifestation of your worst fear."_

"_Pandora getting hurt or killed," _Max replied, he knew what Aurora was getting at.

"_You have to be careful Max, if your enemies know about your fear they won't hesitate to use it against you."_

"_I know that for a fact," _Max said to Aurora, it wasn't the first time his enemies used his worst fears against him.

"_I'm just saying that you shouldn't run head first into things," _Aurora warned Max. _"It will just get you in to trouble."_

"_I know mum," _Max reassured Aurora.

"_I'm sorry Max," _Aurora apologised, _"but you're my son and I can't help but worry about you."_

"_I'm fine mum," _Max continued to reassure his mother, _"I'm a grown man now, I'm married."_

"_Please be careful," _Aurora pleaded with Max.

"_Don't worry, I'll be careful," _Max said, _"now if you don't mind I'd like a little privacy if that's not too much trouble."_

"_You know where I am if you need me," _Aurora said to her son before she disappeared.

Max jumped off the alcove and he landed gracefully on his feet, he walked round the grounds thinking about what he had seen, still unsure of what to make of it. _"Was it a dream?" _Was a question that Max kept asking himself over and over again. Max was wrapped up in his thoughts that he wasn't even aware of his surroundings, in fact his body seemed to be on auto pilot. It was only when he felt something brush against his head that he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Ouch!" Max cried out as he rubbed his head where he got hit, he looked up to see a large pure white snowy owl carrying what looked like a small dead mouse in its beak. It flew up and perched on one of the low lying branches and with a quick flick of its head it swallowed the mouse whole. Max took a closer look and he saw that there was something off about it, he noticed that the owl had deep blue eyes which glowed strangely rather than the amber coloured eyes owls normally have. Max also noticed what looked like black spiky hair on the owl's head running down the length of its back. Max shook his head and he couldn't help but smile at the bird, "hi Zack," Max said casually.

At these words the owl opened up his wings and he flew to the ground, a bright green light surrounded him and a few seconds later Zack was stood where the owl used to be. "How did you know it was me?" he asked staring intently at Max.

"The eyes and the hair were a big give away," Max answered, "other than that, you really did look like an owl."

Zack ran his hand through his spiky hair, "I seriously need to work on my transformations," he told Max, "but it doesn't matter how hard I try, I still have the spiky hair and the bright blue eyes."

"Maybe it's so we can identify you from any other animal," Max suggested, "and you still have a mouse tail sticking out of your mouth." Max pointed to the tail sticking out of Zack's mouth.

"Oh really…" Zack asked as he tilted his head back and the tail slid down his throat, Max pulled a disgusted face.

"Eeewww…Zack do you mind!?"

"Sorry," Zack apologised, "I was an owl about a minute ago," he made a small hooting sound like an owl, "I sometimes pick up the behavioural patterns of whatever animal I change into, sometimes I make the sounds even when I'm back in my human form." Zack hooted again, "It only lasts for a few seconds."

"Ah ha…" Max stared at Zack.

"Ok, I think the owl behavioural patterns have worn off," Zack said, "actually, I've never really spent much time as a bird. I mostly transformed into a wolf, Aerith once said that I have a better disposition as a wolf," Max laughed at this. "The tail I could live with," Zack continued, "but the fleas were murder."

"No kidding," Max commented he still laughed a little. "Why were you up so late?"

"I was practicing my transformations," Zack answered, "you never know when it might come in handy. Besides," Zack said as he stared even more intently at Max, "I could ask you the same question."

"I was just thinking," Max answered vaguely, "I guess I must've lost track of the time."

"Happens to the best of us," Zack commented he gave Max a sympathetic smile, he then looked up at the sky and turned his gaze towards Midgar, the large purple cloud was still visible. "The Life Stream is becoming more and more corrupted," Zack said with a sigh, "Aerith's becoming increasingly worried."

"You can feel the Life Stream, can't you?"

Zack nodded, "I was part of the Life Stream for sometime remember, all these abilities like being able to create weapons out of nowhere and changing my form, I didn't have them until I entered the Life Stream."

Max nodded, "yeah, I know," he said to his relatively new friend, after a while Max finally yawned, "well I think I'm gonna go to bed, night Zack."

"Night Max," Zack said as Max walked off and entered the WRO building, Zack stood there for a second or two before he transformed into an owl again and flew up to the highest branch to get a better look at his surroundings. _"I hope we can put a stop to this before it's too late."_

* * *

**Chapter 20 is finally complete, although this chapter had quite a bit of comedy in it, there was also a serious moment as well. Was Max's nightmare a sign of what was gonna happen sometime in the not too distant future? Or was it just a dream? Well that's something you'll have to figure out for yourselves, I'm not gonna give you the answer just yet. Things are getting a little more sinister, ha, ha, ha. Excuse the evil laugh, I couldn't resist it. Chapter 21 will be coming soon, just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its affiliated characters. I do however own characters I created myself.**


	21. Zack's Past

**Chapter 21: Zack's Past**

Aerith woke up early the next morning to the sound of birds singing outside, it was her first night sleeping in a real bed since she was revived along with Zack at Cosmo Canyon the day before. She looked over to her left and found that Zack wasn't there, she slowly sat up and yawned.

"_Where could he be?" _She thought to herself, _"I hope he's not been flirting with anyone again." _Aerith didn't have time to think about the whereabouts of her boyfriend as there was a knock at the door.

"Aerith!" Tifa called through the door, "are you decent?" She asked.

Aerith threw the covers off her and darted out of bed, she quickly got changed into her pink dress, red jacket and brown boots. She grabbed her hair brush and quickly brushed her hair before plating it. She then reached for her pink ribbon, the one Zack got her as a 17th birthday present the week before he went away on that fated mission. She tied her hair up with the ribbon. She then walked over to the door and Tifa walked in.

"Morning Tifa," Aerith said cheerfully.

"I didn't wake you up did I?" Tifa asked.

Aerith shook her head, "no of course not," Aerith replied still in her usual cheery manner, "you don't have to worry Tifa, I was already awake."

Tifa smiled, "that's ok then," she said sounding relieved.

"Did you want anything?" Aerith asked her best friend.

"Well, seen as there's not really much we can do at the moment about the reactors, Yuffie, Angel, Sunny and I were gonna go into Kalm to do a bit of shopping. We were wondering if you wanted to come."

Aerith smiled and nodded, it had been a while since she had gone shopping, "sure, I'd love to come," Aerith replied, "aren't Pandora and Isis coming?"

"Well I went to Pandora and Max's room to ask Pandora if she wanted to come with us but she was fast asleep and Isis doesn't like shopping."

"I see," Aerith responded, "well I'll come with you, I could do with a change of clothing, I feel like I've been wearing the same pink dress forever."

Tifa laughed at this, "come on," she took hold of Aerith's hand and dragged her out of the room, I know a place that sells great clothes." As the two women ran out of the room they bumped into Cloud who was walking down the corridor. "Oh sorry Cloud," Tifa apologised, "I didn't see you there."

"That's ok Tifa," Cloud pushed her apology to the side and he grinned at her, "and where are you two off to?"

"Well… until we figure out what to do about the reactor situation, me, Yuffie, Angel, Sunny and Aerith are gonna shopping."

"Good idea," Cloud replied, "I'm sure Aerith doesn't want to wear the same old pink dress all the time."

"No I don't," Aerith stated, "I could do with a change of clothing," she looked at Cloud and it made her think just how alike him and Zack were in appearance, with obvious differences of course. Then she remembered that Cloud and Zack were best friends, and as far as she knew they still were and if anyone had seen Zack then surely Cloud had. "Hey Cloud, have you seen Zack anywhere?"

Cloud shook his head, "sorry Aerith I haven't seen him all night."

"It's just that he wasn't in our room when I woke up, I was just wondering where he was," Aerith said, her voice was filled with concern.

"Zack's more than capable of taking care of himself," Cloud reassured her, he hadn't forgotten that when they were on the run, Zack had to look after Cloud as well as himself and that must've been a hard thing to do. "Don't forget, he had to look after me as well as himself at one point."

Aerith nodded, "I know," she replied, "it's just that I almost lost him once, I don't want to lose him again."

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Tifa told Aerith, she tried to sound encouraging. "Come on, Yuffie, Angel and Sunny will be waiting for us." Aerith and Tifa walked down the corridor to meet up with Yuffie, Angel and Sunny.

* * *

Max woke up to find Pandora resting her head on his chest still fast asleep. Max smiled when he saw her, still relieved that she was still alive and well. He reached his hand out and he gently stroked her long, black hair, he lay there patiently, waiting for Pandora to wake up, she eventually began to stir.

"…Max…" Pandora moaned softly as she slowly opened her eyes and found herself with her head on Max's chest.

"Morning," Max said as he smiled at her.

Pandora lifted her head up, "it's morning…" she asked.

Max nodded, "yeah, see for yourself." Pandora got out of bed, she put her dressing gown on over her nightie and she walked over to her window, sure enough the sun was shining brightly and the birds were singing. Max stretched as he too got out of bed, he reached for his undershirt and tunic which were lying on a chair next to the bed and he put them on. He then grabbed his gloves and his boots and put them on as well, he walked over to Pandora and wrapped his arms round her waist. "You're so special to me, you know that," he whispered romantically in her ear.

Pandora smiled at him, "I know," she replied, "what's brought this on all of a sudden?"

"Can't I be romantic every once in a while?" Max asked, he grinned back at Pandora.

"Hmmm…" Pandora thought about this for a while, "yes," she replied as Max started kissing her neck. "Anyway," Pandora asked Max, "where were you last night?"

"I was around," Max replied vaguely, Pandora stared at him, "I was just thinking," he added quickly, "I guess I lost track of the time."

"Is it about that nightmare you had?" Pandora asked Max, he just stared blankly at her. "I saw you tossing and turning, remember?" Max nodded, "So what was it about?" She asked.

"Nothing," Max answered, he didn't want to have to relive his nightmare now that he was awake. Pandora gave Max an I know you're lying look. "I'll let you get changed," Max stated quickly and he walked out of the room before Pandora could say anything.

* * *

Meanwhile in Kalm Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, Sunny and Angel were in a clothes shop in town looking at the different outfits. They tried on outfit after outfit after outfit, eventually they all found outfits that they liked. Aerith was still in the changing room.

"Aerith?" Tifa asked as she, Angel, Sunny and Yuffie were stood outside the waiting room. "Are you ok in there?"

"Yes!" Aerith called through the curtain, "I'm finished now," she opened the curtain and the other four women took a look at Aerith. She was wearing a long red and white tube top, a long pink and white skirt and her brown boots. (A/N for any of you who have played Kingdom Hearts 2, you'll recognise this outfit as the one Aerith wears) "Well, what do you think?" She asked as she twirled round so that they could all see.

"Wow!" Tifa exclaimed, obviously impressed, "that outfit looks good on you."

"Yeah," Sunny agreed, "you should definitely get it."

Aerith smiled and she looked at herself in the mirror, she had to admit the outfit looked good on her. "You think I should get it?"

Angel nodded, "Absolutely," she replied.

For a few moments Aerith couldn't decide, then she made her mind up, "alright," she finally said, "I will get it," she went back into the changing room again and she came out five minutes later in her usual pink dress. She then noticed all the clothing that the other four girls had. "How can we afford all of this?" She asked.

"Don't worry, this is all courtesy of Rufus Shinra," Yuffie reassured Aerith as she grinned slyly and held out a credit card.

"Where did you get that?" Tifa asked Yuffie.

"Oh I stole it from Rufus when he wasn't looking," Yuffie explained as the five women walked over to the counter with their clothes.

"Will that be all?" The store attendant asked.

"Yes thank you," Aerith replied politely as the attendant scanned all of their clothes into the till and packed them all into bags.

"Will you be paying by cash or credit card?" The attendant asked.

"Credit card," Yuffie answered quickly as she gave the store attendant Rufus' credit card, the attendant placed the card into a scanner, a few seconds later she handed it back to Yuffie.

"Thank you," the store attendant said as the women picked up their shopping and walked out of the shop.

"I can't believe you stole Rufus' credit card!" Angel exclaimed, however she couldn't help but be impressed by Yuffie.

"Hey, Rufus is like the richest guy in the world," Yuffie said, she was still grinning inanely. "He's not gonna miss a few hundred gil."

"Let's just hope he doesn't find out that you stole his credit card," Tifa replied as she stared intently at Yuffie.

"Don't worry," Yuffie said quickly, "I'll return it."

"Good," Aerith said to the ninja, "I don't want you getting into trouble off Rufus."

"I said I'd return it!" Yuffie snapped as she glared at Aerith.

"We believe you Yuffie," Tifa stated, she looked at her watch and she saw that it said 1pm. "Wow! Tifa exclaimed, "we've been shopping for three hours."

"Let's go back to WRO," Sunny suggested, "I want to show Drogo my new outfits."

"Alright," Tifa agreed, "we should get this stuff back anyway." The five women walked out of the shopping district and started making their way back to Kalm.

* * *

"Close but no cigar!" Lance joked as he avoided Cid's spear.

"Ha, ha," Cid laughed sarcastically as he brought his spear back round again to strike at Lance, Lance spun his spear round like a windmill easily parrying Cid's spear. "I'm trying to quit I swear," Cid stated as he quickly took another puff from his cigar.

"Yeah, I can see the commitment," Lance muttered sarcastically as he leapt into the air, pointed his spear down and launched himself at Cid. Cid swung his spear round and blocked Lance's attack, Lance landed gracefully next to Cid.

"Not bad for an old has been," Lance remarked as he grinned at Cid.

"Old has been, ha!" Cid laughed as the two men locked spears, "wielding a spear requires a lot of strength."

"I prefer speed," Lance said as he suddenly jerked his spear upwards knocking Cid's spear out of the way and pointing it at Cid's throat.

"Why speed?" Cid asked as he brought his spear up again and knocked Lance's spear away from his throat.

"Because," Lance began to explain as he spun round causing his spear to clash with Cid's, "what's the point in having all that strength?" He used his spear to knock Cid's spear out of Cid's hands, "if you can't even hit your target." He spun his spear round so that the blunt end was facing upwards he quickly spun causing the blunt end to knock Cid's feet out from underneath him, Cid fell to the ground and landed on his back, Lance then turned his spear round and pointed the sharp end at Cid's throat.

"Hmmm," Cid thought about what Lance was saying and he was impressed by the young Dragon Knight's skill. "I can see I have a lot to learn," Cid said as Lance removed the spear from Cid's throat and helped the pilot to his feet.

"Well I can teach you a few techniques if you want?" Lance offered.

Cid nodded, "sure, but is it ok if we take a breather first?" Cid asked as he breathed heavily, "I'm not as young as I used to be."

Lance nodded, "sure."

Max was stood there silently watching them both fight, he was obviously impressed by both of them. Lance's skills had greatly improved in the past few months and Cid, well Max was just amazed that he could lift the damn spear. A few moments later and Pandora had caught up to Max.

"There you are!" Pandora exclaimed as she ran into Max's arms, "I was looking everywhere for you."

Max was about to answer when he was interrupted by a high pitched voice. "Yeah, he seems to be getting into a habit of wandering off," Max and Pandora looked behind them to see a grey squirrel with black spiky hair leap off a tree and land on Max's shoulder.

"Hi Zack," Max replied.

"Zack…" Pandora asked as she looked from the squirrel to Max and back to the squirrel again.

Max sighed, "go ahead Zack," the squirrel leapt off Max's shoulder and landed on the ground, green light surrounded it and a few seconds later Zack was stood where the squirrel used to be.

Pandora jumped back as her eyes were wide with shock, "how did you do that?" Pandora asked as she stared at Zack.

"I can change my form," Zack answered, "another gift from the Life Stream."

"Oh," Pandora replied, "I'm guessing the other gift is your ability to create weapons out of nowhere," Zack nodded, Pandora then remembered the conversation her and Zack had on their way to Edge and she grinned at the ex SOLDIER. "Zack," she said choosing her words carefully. "Remember when we said…"

"I know what you're gonna say," Zack quickly cut in, the inane grin that was there before was gone and Zack's face became serious. "And the answer is still no." Zack turned round and started to walk off, Pandora followed him.

"But Zack, with you being alive now don't you think you should…" Pandora continued to ask, Zack turned round to face her.

"I already told you I'm not gonna see my parents so just drop it will ya!" Zack turned round and stormed off, he pushed passed Cloud as he entered the grounds. Cloud looked back at Zack and then he gave Max and Pandora a confused stare.

"What's up with him?" Cloud asked.

"His parents," Pandora answered she had a worried expression on her face.

"Well Zack hasn't seen them in 12 years," Cloud replied, "I guess he feels like he can't face them now."

"But why is he being so uptight about it?" Pandora asked staring hopefully at Cloud.

Cloud merely shrugged in response, "beats me," he said.

"But you're his best friend, right?"

"Yeah," Cloud answered "but I don't know about Zack's life in Gongaga, he never told me. In fact I don't think even Aerith knows."

"Knows what…" Max, Pandora and Cloud turned round to see Aerith stood behind them.

"Aerith," Cloud spoke up, "I thought you went shopping with Tifa, Angel, Sunny and Yuffie."

"I did," Aerith replied, "they went to their rooms to try on their new outfits, anyway, what don't I know?"

"I think it's best that you talk to Zack," Cloud told Aerith.

"Yeah, I think I will," Aerith said, and she walked off back to WRO, Cloud and Max followed, however Pandora stayed behind and she walked over to Cid.

"Hey Cid I was wondering if you could do me a favour?" Pandora asked the pilot.

"Sure," Cid replied, "what do you want?" Pandora whispered into Cid's ear.

Meanwhile Cloud, Max and Aerith were stood outside Aerith and Zack's room, Aerith knocked on the door. "Zack, it's me Aerith!" She called through the door, "please let me in!"

"Go away!" Zack's voice could be heard from inside the room.

Cloud stepped forwards, "let me try," he said to Aerith, Aerith moved out of the way and Cloud banged his fist on the door, "Zack!" He yelled, "you have till the count of three to open this door or I'll break it down! 1,2…" Cloud was about to say three when he heard the sound of a lock clicking and Zack opened the door.

"You don't have to shout!" He snapped as Cloud, Aerith and Max entered the room, "I'm not deaf!"

"What's going on Zack?" Cloud demanded.

"Nothing," Zack lied, Cloud glared at him.

"That's a lie Zack and you know it!" Cloud yelled, "I know you're hiding something!"

Aerith stepped forward and took hold of Zack's hand, "please Zack, I know it's about your parents and I think Pandora is right, you should go and see them."

"I can't go back there!" Zack yelled, "I promised myself that I wouldn't go back!"

"Why not?" A different voice demanded they all turned round to see Pandora standing in the doorway.

"That's none of your business!" Zack snapped at Pandora, Pandora marched into the room.

"Well maybe not!" She snapped back as she jabbed a finger into Zack's chest, "but you're lucky, at least you got to know your parents, I never even knew mine. They died when I was just a year old! I think you should go and see your parents, otherwise you'll just end up regretting it for the rest of your life!"

"I don't care!" Zack retorted, "I haven't seen my parents for over 12 years and I don't care if I don't see them again!" Pandora gave Zack a pleading look, he just turned away and folded his arms stubbornly, "I'm not seeing my parents! Na ah! No way! Finito, Fat chance! Not gonna happen!"

Ten minutes later on Sierra.

"I can't believe this is happening," Zack muttered under his breath, Aerith wrapped her arms round his neck and kissed him.

"It'll be ok," Aerith replied reassuringly.

Zack looked up at her, "what are you basing that on?" He asked.

"Me, Cloud and Tifa saw your parents a few years back," Aerith answered, "they were worried about you."

Zack gave Aerith a sceptical stare, "no, really…"

Aerith nodded, "really Zack, they were worried about you."

"Don't worry Zack," Tifa chipped in, "me, Aerith, Cloud, Max and Pandora will be there for you."

"I don't even know why I'm doing this," Zack said with a sigh.

"So that your parent's know that you're ok," Cloud replied, he patted his friend on the shoulder, "it'll be fine, trust me."

"I hope you guys are right," Zack muttered and he fell silent again, the group spent the rest of the journey in silence. After and hour of flying Cid spoke to them.

"We're approaching Gongaga now," he said, "Of course I can't land in the village itself I'll have to land outside the jungle and you guys will have to walk the rest of the way."

"Thanks Cid," Aerith thanked the pilot, Cid merely brushed her thanks to the side as he landed the airship. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Zack, Max and Pandora got out of the airship and started walking through the jungle. They eventually reached Gongaga village.

Zack looked around him, "damn," he muttered, "this place looks even worse than when I left."

Max placed his hand on Zack's shoulder, "Are you ok?" He asked.

Zack nodded, "yeah, I'm fine, come on let's get this over with." Zack started to walk off and the others followed him, he was about to walk passed the graveyard when he stopped. Aerith and the others noticed this and they also stopped.

"Is this…" Aerith began to ask.

Zack nodded, "yeah," he answered a hint of sadness in his voice, "this is where all the victims of the reactor incident were buried."

Max and Pandora stared at Zack, "Reactor incident…" they both asked at the same time, but Zack wasn't listening. He entered the graveyard and he started walking passed the graves almost as if he was being drawn to something. Aerith, Cloud, Tifa, Max and Pandora followed him, Zack walked all the way to the back of the graveyard, he came to a stop at one grave and he fell to his knees. The others caught up with him and Max read the epitaph.

"Here lies Zoë, a loving sister and daughter, R.I.P…who's Zoë?"

Zack looked up at Max, "she was my little sister," he answered as he felt tears burning in his eyes.

Cloud stared at Zack, "Zoë…" He asked.

"My parents had a thing for Zs," Zack answered.

"What happened to her?" Aerith asked, Zack hung his head and he slowly began to explain what happened.

(Flashback)

_It was ten o clock on a Saturday morning a 13 year old Zack was still in bed, he was always one to sleep in at weekends when he didn't have school. He was quickly woken up by someone throwing stones through his window and one of the hit him on the head. Zack woke up with a start._

"_Ouch!" He cried out in pain as he rubbed his head where the stone had hit. He walked over to his window and he saw three other boys his age standing outside. _

_One boy was tall and slender, he had slicked back red hair, green eyes and he was wearing black knee length shorts a red shirt, red sneakers and a black bandana on his head he went by the name of Josh. The second boy was slightly shorter and had a much heavier build than the first boy, he had short, straight blond hair, brown eyes and he wore green baggy pants, and green jacket with no shirt, he was known as Darren. The last boy was a little on the chubby side, like Zack he had black spiky hair but his spikes were shorter and nowhere near as unruly as Zack's hair, like Josh, he wore red knee length shorts, a white, long sleeved t-shirt, white sneakers and black sunglasses, his name was Jake._

"_Hey Zack!" Josh called up to Zack, "we're gonna go up to the old fishing hole to try and catch some big ones, you coming?!"_

"_Yeah!" Zack yelled out to his friends, "just give me a minute," Zack came away from his window and he got changed into his clothes, he ran down the stairs and grabbed his jacket from the coat rack. "Ok mum, dad, I'm going out I'll be back later!" Zack was about to open the door and walk out when a woman in her mid 30s with black hair tied back into a bun stopped him._

"_Where are you going?" She asked._

"_Just out to the old fishing hole," Zack answered, "I'm meeting Josh, Darren and Jake."_

"_Ok," Zack's mother said, "take Zoë with you." As she said this a very attractive looking 12 year old girl with long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail appeared behind her mother, she had blue eyes like Zack did and she wore a purple top, purple pants and white sneakers._

"_Ok mum," Zack said, "come on Zoë," Zoë walked out of the door Zack was about to leave when his mum stopped him again._

"_Zack, please look after her," his mum pleaded with him, "promise me you won't let anything bad happen to her."_

"_I promise mum," Zack said as he walked out of the door to meet up with his friends. Five minutes later and they were at the old fishing hole._

"_This is gonna be great!" Darren exclaimed as they all sat down at the lake and threw their fishing rods into the water._

"_Yeah," Josh added, "my dad said that he once caught a catfish this big!" He spread his arms out wide for emphasis._

"_A giant catfish in the lake?" Zoë asked, "get out of here!"_

"_It's true," Josh said sounding a little offended._

_Zack laughed, "come on, let's just fish," he said. The group of kids started fishing, but after half an hour of just sitting there and not catching anything they began to grow bored._

"_This is so boring," Darren said with a yawn._

"_Yeah," Jake agreed, "we've never gone this long without catching anything."_

"_Maybe the fish have moved," Zoë suggested._

"_Let's do something else," Darren said._

_Josh looked at the group with a wide grin on his face, "I heard they've just finished building the new reactor on the other side of the jungle," he explained, "let's go check it out."_

"_Good idea Josh," Darren remarked._

"_Yeah, let's go," Jake agreed._

"_You coming Zack?" Josh asked as he stared hopefully at Zack._

"_I don't think that's such a good idea," Zack spoke up as he shook his head._

"_Come on Zack," Zoë pleaded with her older brother, "I wanna go and see the reactor."_

_Zack sighed, his sister was stubborn and he knew that once she had made her mind up there was nothing anyone could do to change it. "Alright," he said as he gave in, "I suppose just looking at it won't hurt." The group made their way through the village and through the jungle, eventually they arrived at the reactor._

"_Wow!" Zoë squealed in excitement, "it's so big!"_

"_Finally some new technology," Jake added as they all stared in awe at the reactor. "I was worried that Gongaga would remain a backwater town forever." _

"_Ok," Zack said, "we've had a look at the reactor, can we please leave now, I've heard about these things, they can be really dangerous."_

"_Stop being such a wuss Zack!" Darren joked as Jake made chicken noises in the background._

"_I'm not a wuss!" Zack snapped, "and stop that!" He glared at Darren and Darren fell silent._

"_I wonder what it looks like inside," Zoë pondered._

"_There's only one way to find out," Josh replied and everyone stared at him, he turned to face Darren, "I dare you to go in."_

_Darren shook his head, "no way man," he said quickly, "why don't you go in?"_

"_Ok," Josh said and he looked at Zack, "I double dare Zack to go in."_

"_No way!" Zack yelled, "I'm not going in there!"_

"_What are you afraid of going in their alone?" Josh asked in a mocking tone, Darren laughed and Jake made chicken noises again._

"_I'm not afraid!" Zack yelled, I just don't feel like going in!"_

"_Hey it's a double dare!" Josh yelled back, "you can't back out of a double dare!"_

"_I'm aware of the rules of double dare!" Zack retorted, "I don't wanna go in!" Zoë then glared at Zack._

"_You never do anything Zack!" She yelled at her older brother, "be reckless for once in your life! I'm gonna go into that reactor and see what it's like!"_

"_No you're not Zoë!" Zack yelled at his little sister and he grabbed hold of her arm._

"_Why not?" Zoë demanded._

"_Because you're my little sister," Zack answered, "and I promised mum that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, it was a mistake coming here."_

"_You can't tell me what to do!" Zoë yelled and she jerked her arm away from Zack and she ran towards the reactor._

"_ZOE NO!" Zack yelled and he started to run after her when an explosion went off. The four boys could only watch in horror as the reactor exploded and collapsed on itself. "NO!" Zack yelled again and he ran towards the reactor and he started searching frantically through the rubble for any sign of his sister. "Please be ok," Zack pleaded, "please be alive." After five minutes of frantic searching he eventually found Zoë, "Zoë," Zack called out her name but she didn't respond. "Zoë!" Zack yelled a little louder but she still didn't respond. He took hold of her body in his arms and he gently shook her but she didn't move, it was at that moment that he knew she was dead. "No…" Zack mumbled softly as he felt the tears well in his eyes. "What have I done…WHAT HAVE I DONE!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he the shock was yet to sink in and when it did Zack eventually broke down and cried into his sister's chest._

(End flashback)

"So that's what happened?" Aerith asked, Zack nodded and he hung his head, Aerith placed her hand on his shoulder, "I had no idea."

"I didn't want to tell anyone," Zack replied, "I thought that if I could keep it under wraps then everything would be ok."

"Keeping everything bottled up isn't good Zack," Cloud advised, "believe me I know."

Zack nodded, "I know, come on, let's go and see my parents." Zack stood up and the group walked out of the graveyard and through the village, five minutes later and they arrived at Zack's parents' house. They walked up to the door, Zack hesitated for a few seconds before he knocked on. The door opened and a middle aged woman answered the door.

"Yes?" she asked as she stared at the young man on the doorstep.

"Hi mum," Zack said nervously. The woman rubbed her eyes and she stared again at the young man.

"Zack…" she gasped hardly daring to believe it. "Is it really you?" Zack nodded and his mother hugged him. "Oh Zack I thought we'd never see you again!"

Zack was about to respond when a middle aged man with greying black hair and a bald spot in the middle of his head came out of the house. "What is all that…" he stopped when he saw Zack standing there.

"Hi dad," Zack greeted his father.

Zack's father also rubbed his eyes, "good lord, Zack!" He yelled as he grabbed Zack and pulled him into a quick bear hug before he let go of his son.

"These must be your friends," Zack's mum remarked as she noticed, Cloud, Aerith, Max and Pandora.

Zack nodded, "yeah, I'm guessing you've already met Cloud and Aerith," Zack pointed to Cloud and Aerith, his parents nodded, "and this is Max and Pandora," Zack pointed to Max and Pandora.

"I'm guessing this must've been a long trip for you," Zack's mum said politely, "why don't you all come in for a bit?"

"Thank you," Cloud replied and they all walked into the house, they entered the living and they all sat down, Zack's parent's stared intently at Zack.

"So where have you been all this time?" Zack's mum asked her son.

"Well…" With the help of Cloud and Aerith Zack explained everything that had gone on in the passed 12 years of his life.

"Humph," his father replied coldly, "so you joined soldier."

Zack hid his face in his hands, "please don't start this again," he said.

"You knew how we felt about this Zack!" His mother screamed at him. Zack lifted his head up and leapt to his feet.

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" He snapped so suddenly that it caused everyone else in the room to jump back. Zack's eyes grew wide with shock as he remembered using those exact same words 12 years ago.

(Flashback)

_It had been a whole year since Zoë's death and Zack was still wracked with guilt for failing to protect his sister, for breaking the promise he made to his mother. For a while he separated himself off from his family and friends, not wishing to speak to anyone since he felt that they all blamed him. That was when he heard about SOLDIER, about Sephiroth, the greatest SOLDIER in existence and it made Zack realise that he had no future in Gongaga, that his fortunes were else where. He wanted to be somebody and he knew that he wouldn't reach his full potential if he remained in Gongaga, he had made up his mind he was going to join SOLDIER, he was going to make something of himself. He knew that his parents wouldn't approve but he still had to tell them. He leapt off his bed and slowly walked down the stairs and he walked into the living room._

"_Mum, dad," he said quietly._

"_Yes Zack," his mother answered._

"_There's something I have to tell you," Zack continued as he walked over to the sofa and sat down._

"_What is it son?" Zack's father asked as his mother sat down next to Zack._

"_I've decided," Zack said choosing his words carefully, he took a deep breath. "I want to join SOLDIER._

_His parents stared at Zack in shock as they heard this, "you want to join SOLDIER…" His mother gasped, Zack nodded, Zack's father got up from his armchair he walked over to Zack grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook him._

"_This is nonsense!" He yelled, "no son of mine is going to join SOLDIER!" He stopped shaking Zack and Zack stood up._

"_And why not?!" He demanded as he glared at his parents, somehow he knew they'd react like that._

"_Have you forgotten what that contraption of theirs did?" Zack's mother yelled at Zack, "it's because of Shinra that your sister is dead!"_

"_It was an accident!" Zack yelled._

"_You never should've taken her there in the first place!" His father retorted._

"_Zoë wanted to go!" Zack argued back, "she ran towards the reactor, I tried to stop her!"_

"_You obviously didn't try hard enough!" His mother screamed at him, "YOU'RE NOT JOINING SOLDIER AND THAT'S THAT!" She yelled finally._

_YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Zack suddenly snapped and his parents fell silent, they had never heard him yell like that before. "I'M JOINING SOLDIER AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!"_

"_FINE!" His father yelled back, "BUT IF YOU LEAVE NOW THEN DON'T BOTHER COMING BACK!"_

_DON'T WORRY!" Zack yelled harshly, "I WON'T! IN FACT I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" Before his parents could say anything else Zack stormed out of the room, slammed the door behind him, he ran up the stairs to his room, slammed his bedroom. He dived on to his bed and cried into his pillow. After two hours of crying Zack looked over at his window and he saw that it was going dark. He should've known that his parents wouldn't approve, not that it mattered, he said that he never wanted to see parents again and he stuck by that, he was going to join SOLDIER whether they liked it or not. He crawled off his bed, walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a large bag, he then walked over to the drawers and pulled out every item of clothing he had and stuffed them into the bag, once he had got all his essentials together he tore the bed sheets off his bed and tied them together to form a rope and he threw it out of the widow. He used his makeshift rope to climb out of his bedroom window, when he was outside he took one last look at his parents' house and after vowing never to return he ran off into the night._

(End flashback)

"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU ZOE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!" Zack's mother continued to rant and rave at Zack, eventually he had had enough.

"NOW I REMEMBER WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO COME BACK HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" He yelled and before anyone could say anything he stormed out of the room, slammed the door and walked out of the house.

Aerith and Cloud were about to go after Zack when Max stopped them, "no," he said, "I'll go, I think I know something that'll cheer him up."

"He will be ok won't he?" Aerith asked Max tearfully.

Max nodded, "he'll be fine, just give me a few minutes." Max walked out of the house, he found Zack on the roof of another building looking angry, upset and dejected. With a single leap Max leapt onto the building next to Zack.

"You want to talk?" Max asked the ex SOLDER.

Zack turned to face Max, "Oh, hey Max," Zack replied in a depressed tone.

"You really need someone to talk to," Max sat down next to Zack, even though he didn't know Zack as well as Aerith and Cloud did, he knew him for long enough to know that Zack wasn't being himself.

"They're right though aren't they?" Zack asked the Kitsune, "if it wasn't for me Zoë would still be alive."

Max shook his head, "you're not to blame, you weren't to know that the reactor was gonna blow up."

"I was her older brother, I should've looked after her better," Zack said sadly.

"You can't keep blaming yourself," Max told him, "look you died yourself remember? You probably saw Zoë in the Life Stream."

Zack nodded, "yeah but I never spoke to her though," Zack replied, Max stared at Zack but he didn't have to say anything as Zack already knew what Max was going to say. "I never plucked up the courage to talk to her," Zack continued to explain, "I thought she blamed me like my parents did."

"Well," Max said to Zack, "you know how I can speak to dead people." Zack nodded, "well while we were in the graveyard, I spoke to your sister."

Zack looked up at Max, "Really, what did she say?"

"She said that she doesn't blame you," Max answered truthfully, "and that she never did, she said that you could've spoken to her at anytime when you were in the Life Stream, and as for your parents, she said that they'll get over it and learn to forgive you in time, but for now you should just live your life the way you want to live it."

Zack smiled at Max, "was that you saying that last part or her?"

"Both," Max answered, "but my point is you've become such a well round individual, I mean you met Aerith, you saved Cloud at a great cost to your own life and if your parents can't see that then they're not worth bothering about."

"You're right," Zack said and he stood up, he suddenly felt lighter like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, "I should get back to what really matters, Aerith and saving the world." As Zack said this Aerith, Cloud, Tifa and Pandora were stood below them.

"Is everything ok?" Aerith called up to them, Zack and Max jumped down from the roof and Zack hugged Aerith, "Everything's fine," he told her as he kissed her, "let's get out of here, I'm not gonna stay where I'm not wanted." The group walked out of the village and as they made their way back to the Sierra Zack took one last look at the graveyard.

"_Please forgive me Zoë," _he said to himself as he, Aerith, Cloud, Tifa, Max and Pandora made their way back to the Sierra and WRO.

* * *

**Phew this was quite a long chapter, I know it wasn't part of the main story but I thought it would be interesting to put in a bit of a background for Zack and formulate my own theory as to what motivated him to leave Gongaga to join SOLDIER. Well Square Enix didn't really give much detail about his past so it's really just speculation and theories. Like I said I know this chapter diverted away from the main plot, (it's like a side quest on an RPG game that deviates from the main plot but it adds new depth to the game) I was just adding depth to an otherwise mysterious and unknown character, like we all do. Anyway chapter 22 will be coming up soon, please feel free to comment CONSTRUCTIVELY! I can't stress that enough, enjoy. **


	22. Sibling Rivalry

**Chapter 22: Sibling Rivalry**

It was round about two o clock in the afternoon when Emily had finally woken up. Back when she was living with Drogo and her grandfather she was forced to wake up at the crack of dawn, however since she started living on her own she soon broke out of the habit. She threw the covers off her and crawled slowly out of bed and got changed, she walked over to the wardrobe and took out her dual wheeler, she hadn't used it since she fought against Rosso, Nero and Azul in the Mount Nibel reactor. She looked at herself in the mirror and she sighed sadly.

"_I never thought I'd actually miss home so much," _she thought to herself as she grabbed a hair brush and started to brush her head spines getting them into their usual style, she grabbed her ribbon from the dressing table and she tied up the top most spine into a short pony tail. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before she grabbed her dual wheeler again and she walked out of the room. She proceeded down the corridor and out into the grounds hoping to get some practice in, she saw that the grounds were completely deserted. Emily sighed but she began to practice nevertheless, she swung her weapon round above her head with amazing skill. She swiftly brought it round behind her and spun it round like a windmill bring the dual wheeler round in front of her as she spun it at top speed. She thrust it out in front of her quickly and then she brought it over her head and around behind her when she felt one of the blades clash against something.

"Huh?" Emily uttered as she quickly whirled round to find herself face to face with Drogo. He held one of his katanas out in front of him and the blades of both weapons were grinding against each other.

"You're skills have improved," Drogo remarked as Emily pulled her dual wheeler away from Drogo's katana she leapt a few paces away from him and she held her weapon behind her.

"Thanks," she muttered gratefully, "I was just practising, you never know when they might show up again."

Drogo nodded, "mind if I practise with you?" he asked, a playful smirk on his face.

"Not at all," Emily replied as Drogo unsheathed his other katana and got into a fighting stance. "Maybe I can give you a few pointers," she replied slyly.

"Heh," Drogo laughed when he heard this, "not likely," he replied arrogantly as he leapt forwards with his katanas thrust out in front of him. Emily quickly spun her dual wheeler round in front of her and thrust it forwards with all her might and both weapons clashed with an almighty clang. Emily rotated her dual wheeler as Drogo moved his katanas out of the way and thrust them forwards again to clash with the other blade of Emily's weapon. "Face it Emily!" Drogo goaded as he quickly ducked and dodged to the side to avoid Emily's overhead attack. "A dual wheeler is nowhere near as good two katanas!"

"You wish!" Emily retorted as she spun her dual wheeler round like a windmill to deflect Drogo's lightning fast attacks. "You always used to say that!"

Drogo laughed as he and Emily leapt into the air and they began exchanging blows at an exhilarating speed the clashing of the blades could be heard from miles around. "You were so easy to wind up then!" He joked over the sound of the clanging metal, "you still are!" He soon regretted that remark when Emily roundhouse kicked him square in the jaw. He fell to the ground and moved out of the way just in time as Emily lunged at him and dug her blade into the ground where his body was a few seconds before. She quickly pulled her weapon out of the ground and pointed it at Drogo who was still lay on the ground. "Owww…" Drogo managed to utter as he relocated his jaw, "Shit!" Drogo cursed as he staggered to his feet, "did you have to kick me that hard?"

Emily grinned as Drogo picked up his katanas and held them out in front of him. "Well you were winding me up, like you used to…Dualist!" Emily remarked jokingly as Drogo scowled at her.

"Yeah," Drogo replied, "I remember on our 9th birthday, you kicked me through a tree because I stole your slice of cake when you weren't looking. Your kicks hurt even back then."

"And I've become even stronger since then," Emily replied proudly as she and Drogo lunged at each other again at top speeds running, dodging and leaping round the grounds as metal clashed against metal. Even though Drogo and Emily had a fierce rivalry, they would never harm each other and if a real battle situation ensued they would fight to protect one another. "So you'd better watch it!"

"I know," Drogo agreed as he threw one of katanas into the air and created a fireball in his hand. **(A/N, Drogo is an elementalist, meaning that he can control fire, water, earth and air. Emily is also an elementalist.) **He threw the fireball in Emily's direction but she quickly deflected it by spinning her dual wheeler, Drogo then caught his katana as it fell and he resumed his normal fighting style. "I hope to never be on the receiving end of one of your kicks again!"

Emily laughed when she heard this, "Don't wind me up then!" She commented as she leapt to the side and parried Drogo's attack. They continued in that fashion for sometime and after a while they started to get an audience.

Sunny stood there watching as the two siblings fought one another holding nothing back. Reno came up behind her and watched the twins with his arms folded and an amused expression on his face. Neither of them spoke for sometime but after a while Reno looked at Sunny, "Aren't you worried about them?" He asked as he saw Emily and Drogo get knocked backwards by the sheer force of their attacks.

Sunny shook her head and smiled at Reno, "No," she replied, "I know that they'd never hurt each other, as far as I know they've been rivals since they were kids."

Reno laughed, "so there's no love lost between them," he joked and Sunny laughed at this, "me and Rude used to be rivals when we were training to be Turks," Reno told Sunny, "now look at us, we're inseparable."

"I know, it's like Drogo and Emily, they were inseparable when they were kids, and they're inseparable now."

"That's twins for ya," Reno replied as he and Sunny continued to watch the battle. "Apparently, they have a special bond between them."

"Drogo and Emily definitely have that," Sunny agreed, "Drogo was devastated when he thought that Emily was dead, he even blamed himself."

"Wasn't that the reason he drank in the first place?" Reno asked as he turned to look at Sunny again.

Sunny nodded, "that and one of the thieves he was living with gave him a sip of Deadly Nightshade after a heist. Drogo had been hooked on the stuff since, of course he turned his life around."

"So," Reno asked as he looked back at Drogo and Emily fighting, "who do you think is gonna win?"

"I don't know," Sunny replied as she too turned her head round to look at Drogo and Emily, still exchanging blows, neither was willing to back down. "They've both improved since the last time they met and they're stubborn too."

Reno and Sunny continued to watch Drogo and Emily in silence as the two hedgehogs continued their dual. "You…tired…yet…" Drogo panted as he continued to trade blows with Emily but as time got on, **(A/N, even though I haven't specified how long they've been fighting for, it has been for about two or three hours. Yes, Drogo and Emily can fight against each other for that long.) **both their strikes became slower.

"No…" Emily panted back, even though she was tired she refused to admit it and she certainly didn't back down, "you know…you can quit…anytime…you…want…"

"And…let you…beat me…ha!" Drogo laughed as he and Emily continued to trade blows at a slowly decreasing rate. "I…refuse…to…lose to a girl," Drogo then grinned as he said his next comment, "even if she is my sister!"

"You take that back!" Emily yelled as she and Drogo fought with renewed energy and vigour. They leapt and dodged around so fast that they could barely be seen. After half an hour had gone by, Barret, Cid, Max, Cloud, Zack, Aerith, Tifa (Yes, they all got back while Drogo and Emily were fighting) and Lance arrived and saw them still fighting.

"Are those two S.O.Bs still at it?" Cid asked as he took out a box of cigarettes, he got out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He then reached into his pocket for his lighter, but he couldn't find it and he frantically felt his jacket for his lighter. "Bloody Hell!" Cid cursed at the top of his lungs, "has anyone got a lighter? I seem to have misplaced mine again!"

Barret shook his head and rolled his eyes, "again," he muttered sarcastically, as Cid glared at him. "I thought you were trying to quit."

"I was," Cid replied irritably, "but those damn nicotine patches itch like hell! AND I HAVEN'T HAD A GOD DAMN CIGARETTE FOR THREE BLOODY DAYS NOW!" Zack suddenly burst out laughing and Cid glared at him, "And what are you laughing at spiky?!"

Zack's grin grew wider, "Oh yeah, I remember you trying those nicotine patches, I think you're expression was a little something like this." Zack transformed into an exact copy of Cid. **(A/N, when he transforms into a copy of another human, his hair and eye colour change to the colour of that person's hair and eyes. It's only when he transforms into an animal that his hair and eye colour remain the same.) **"Oh damn these nicotine patches!" Zack cursed in Cid's voice as he scratched his arm frantically. "Why do I have to wear them? They itch like bloody hell!" Cid glared at Zack, but Zack ignored him, "Damn it! That's over thirty patches and I've still got the cravings! Hey Shera!" Zack shouted to no one in particular. "I think there's some space left on my butt!"

"Get out of it you!" Cid yelled as Zack changed back into his normal form still grinning inanely at the pilot.

"Damn," Zack continued to joke, "I almost wish I had a camera, that was a real Kodak moment." Aerith glowered at Zack, "what?" he asked as he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't tell me you didn't find that funny when we saw Cid with all those nicotine patches on him."

"Oh I did," Aerith said as she tried hard not to laugh, "but Cid really is trying to quit."

"Yeah," Zack replied. "…Bullshit…" he managed to disguise it as a cough causing Aerith to give him another evil stare. "Anyway…" he changed the subject, "who do you think's gonna win?"

No one answered him as they didn't even know themselves who was going to win. They all watched in silence as Drogo and Emily were still fighting against each other, furiously exchanging blows and it wasn't long before they both began to tire again. Emily knocked Drogo out of the air causing him to slam back first into the ground, a blade was pointed at his stomach and Drogo looked up to see Emily stood over him pointing her dual wheeler at him looking exhausted but she had a triumphant smile on her face.

"Ok, ok," Drogo admitted his defeat, "you win, this time…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily demanded as she glared at him.

"Well you obviously cheated," Drogo responded as Emily moved her weapon away and Drogo staggered to his feet, "how else could you have beaten me?"

Emily glared at Drogo and she raised her hand in an attempt to slap him but she thought better of it. "Ha!" She scoffed, "I can beat you anytime I want, what happened now just proved it."

"I know, I know," Drogo said by way of an apology, "but I'll beat you next time." Drogo sheathed his katanas and Emily sheathed her dual wheeler, and it wasn't long before everyone else walked off to do their own thing and eventually Drogo, Emily and Sunny were in the grounds on their own. "You gotta admit that was a good fight right Emily…Emily?" Emily didn't respond, she turned her back on Drogo and Sunny and walked off. Drogo and Sunny looked at each other and they ran after Emily, they found her sat on a bench with her head hung down and her shoulders were hunched, she looked upset and depressed. Drogo looked at Sunny who nodded and he walked up to her. "Emily?" He asked trying to get his sister's attention.

"Huh?" She turned her head round and she saw Drogo standing behind her, "oh, Drogo, I was just…"

"Wandering off," Drogo finished her sentence off, "do you mind if I sit down?" Emily shook her head and Drogo sat down next to her. "What's wrong?" He asked his voice was filled with concern.

"Nothing…" she replied quickly, Drogo gave her a sceptical stare.

"Come on sis," Drogo responded, when it came to the people he knew he was like a living lie detector. "I know you, you were fine before and all of a sudden you become depressed. What's wrong?"

Emily sighed and she looked at Drogo, "do you miss home?" She asked.

Drogo nodded, "yeah, of course I do," he answered, "we all do, but we can't leave now. The rest of the teleportation devices need to be fixed and we need to help Cloud and the others protect their world."

"I know," Emily replied, "I guess I'm just being silly."

"No you're not," Drogo reassured her, "it's ok to miss home, but you can't let it get in the way of what's important and right now saving Cloud's world is more important than finding a way home."

"I know," Emily replied, "don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She smiled at Drogo and tried to be reassuring but Drogo knew the truth. However he also knew how stubborn Emily was and when she became unresponsive Drogo stood up and he walked back to Sunny with a sigh.

"What are we gonna do?" Drogo asked Sunny sadly, "she really misses home, I mean we all do but…" Drogo trailed off, Sunny knew what he was going to say next, she looked back at Emily and then back at Drogo again.

"Hey!" Sunny said cheerfully, "I think I know what we can do to cheer her up." Sunny whispered in Drogo's ear and he smiled at her.

"Sunny, that's a great idea," he replied and he soon cheered up. Drogo and Sunny walked back over to Emily. "Hey Emily!" Drogo called out to her, Emily looked up and she saw Drogo and Sunny stood in front of her. "Me and Sunny were gonna go for a drive round the Eastern Continent, see some of the sights, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us. It'll help take your mind off things."

Emily thought about this for a while, Drogo was right a change of scene would do her good and it would help her to take her mind off the homesickness she felt. She smiled at Drogo and Sunny, "sure," she answered and she stood up, "I'd like that."

Drogo, Sunny and Emily made their way to the cargo area of the Sierra and fifteen minutes later they were driving along the plains in the street car that Drogo had won a while back. They knew that the only places further East of Kalm were Edge and Midgar and considering they were no go areas at that moment in time they decided to go further East until they were off the rocky roads of the Midgar plains and were driving on open country, they drove passed the Chocobo farm and Drogo remembering his previous experience with a Chocobo decided to drive straight passed despite Sunny's protests.

"Awwwww…" Sunny moaned at Drogo, "why can't we stop there and see the Chocobos?"

"Because," Drogo answered without looking at her, "I remember the last time I rode on a Chocobo and my nether regions were aching for days after being hit twice by that saddle."

Emily burst out laughing when she heard this, "you're nether regions got hit, oh I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this!"

Drogo glared at Emily through the rear view mirror, "thanks Emily," he muttered, "just what I need, my own twin sister laughing at me."

"Oh lighten up," Emily said she was trying hard not to laugh again. The car screeched to a halt when it approached the marsh area and the three hedgehogs got out of the car and looked around. "What is this place?" Emily asked as she looked around her.

"Hmmm," Drogo thought as he looked around him, "I remember Tifa telling me about this place, she said something about a monster dwelling here but I can't remember what it is."

Emily and Sunny weren't listening, they walked over to the marsh itself and stood near the edge of it and looked out. The wet ground bubbled slightly but they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "There's something a little creepy about this place," Sunny said to Emily, "but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Hmmm," Emily thought about what Sunny was saying, "you may be right, why don't we take a closer look?" Emily slowly took a pace forward and placed the tip of her foot into the water, and then sensing that it was safe she stepped into the marsh and took a few paces forwards. "Come on!" She called out to Drogo and Sunny, "it's perfectly safe." Emily was about to walk a few more paces when she heard a low rumbling sound from the ground beneath her.

"What was that?" Sunny asked as she looked out into the marsh and she saw the ground vibrate as the rumbling grew louder.

Drogo walked up next to her, "I don't know, but it doesn't sound good," it was at that moment that he remembered what creature dwelled in the marsh. "Emily!" Drogo called out his sister's name and he ran out into the marsh and he grabbed hold of Emily's hand and dragged her away just in time as a giant serpentine creature emerged from the marsh with an almighty roar which rumbled through the ground like an earthquake causing Drogo and Emily to almost lose their balance and they were staring into the eyes of the monster.

"What is that thing?!" Emily asked, her voice shook with fear.

"Tifa told me about this thing," Drogo answered as he unsheathed his katanas, "it's called a Midgar Zolom, it dwells in the marshes and waits for unsuspecting prey then POW! It strikes."

Emily unsheathed her dual wheeler and she stood along side Drogo, "I guess the only way we can make it to the other side is to slay the beast."

Drogo and Emily charged forwards with their weapons thrust out in front of them, Sunny saw this battle ensuing and she brought her bow out and prepared it just in case. Drogo and Emily sped towards the monster and they slashed it at the same time. The Midgar Zolom roared in pain and it wriggled and writhed but it was still very much alive. It opened its mouth wide and flashed its pearly white fangs, it drew its head back and suddenly without warning it lunged at Emily but she leapt out of the way just in time and she held her dual wheeler above her head and spun it round like the blades of a windmill causing the fearsome creature double back, nevertheless it didn't take its eyes off Emily. Drogo saw his chance while the Midgar Zolom was focused on Emily he jumped up on to the Zolom's tail and he ran up the length of its back dragging his katanas behind him as he ran up. When he got near to its head he brought his katanas out in front of him and he dug one of his katanas deep into its flesh.

The Midgar Zolom screamed in pain and thrashed about causing Drogo to be swung around in the air. Drogo closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and he held on even tighter to his katana. Sunny seeing that Drogo was in trouble, quickly loaded up an arrow and aimed at the Midgar Zolom, she then fired the arrow with deadly accuracy hitting it square in the eye. The Zolom roared in even more pain as it was now blind in one eye, sensing her enemy's weakness Emily sped forwards and with a quick flick of her wrist she slashed the Zolom twice in the chest. The Zolom roared and flicked its head a final time dislodging the katana, Drogo and the arrow. Drogo fell to the ground and landed on his back, fortunately the ground was soft and he wasn't hurt too badly he staggered to his feet and he looked over at Emily just in time to see the Midgar Zolom sweep its powerful tail and hit Emily square in the stomach knocking her flying back first into a tree, she slid down the tree and lay there unconscious.

"Emily!" Drogo yelled as he stared at Emily, then the Midgar Zolom and back to Emily again. Sunny quickly ran over to where Emily was lying, she picked her up, slung her over her shoulder and carried her to safety. Drogo glared at the Midgar Zolom which was now focusing on him. He bared his teeth as he sheathed his katanas and brought his arms upwards as his body glowed and was surrounded by a glowing aura. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Drogo yelled at the top of his lungs as his spines grew even spikier and his fur became florescent and glowed brightly. Drogo watched as his clothing also changed, his jacket and his pants became a deep red colour with orange flame patterns on them, his tunic changed from blue to green and his gloves came to just below his elbow and were coloured a deep blue. Glowing aquamarine gems were set into the back of the gloves and his boots became grey, the glow around Drogo fades as he stood there in his Quadra-elemental form. **(A/N As mentioned before Drogo is an elementalist. He has two transformation states, Quick draw, which you may see in later chapters and his Elementalist form which is known as Quadra-elemental. This is because he can control all four elements. As you can see, his spines become even spikier and his fur glows slightly. Also each item of his clothing is coloured to represent the four elements, his jacket and pants represent fire, his tunic represents earth, his gloves represents water and his boots represent air.) **Drogo glared at the Midgar Zolom and he suddenly charged forwards.

"Burning Soul!" Drogo yelled as both his hands ignited into flames, he continued to charge at the Zolom he thrust his flaming hands forwards and launched fireballs at the monster, the serpent hissed and it raised its tail into the air and slammed it down aiming to crush Drogo underneath it, but Drogo was far too quick for it and he rolled out of the way. He leapt into the air and spun round rapidly launching countless fireballs at the Zolom completely engulfing it in flames. Drogo then aimed his fists downwards as he fell and he slammed them into the ground causing columns of molten rock to rise from the ground and completely surround the Midgar Zolom causing extensive damage to it and yet it was still very much alive.

"You look thirsty!" Drogo yelled at the serpent as the fire in his hands died down and was replaced by a glowing blue aura. "Let me quench it for you!" Drogo did a double back flip in the air as a giant Tsunami raged behind him and crashed into the Midgar Zolom almost drowning it and put out all the fire in the surrounding area. When the water died down the Midgar Zolom was swept to the other side of the marsh, it glared at Drogo and hissed threateningly as it slithered towards him and raised itself upwards holding its head back and lunging at Drogo to try and eat him.

Drogo dodged out of the way of the snapping jaws, he then ran up jumped and he drove his foot into the Zolom's face, using it to launch himself into the air. He spread his arms out, his body glowed yellow and electricity pulsed through him. "Weather forecast says LIGHTNING STORM HEADING YOUR WAY!" Drogo thrust his arms back the sky darkened and filled with storm clouds. Thunder rumbled in the sky and the entire marsh was illuminated by a sudden barrage of lightning streaks Drogo then focused all of the lightning storm and crashed it all out on the Zolom which cried out in both shock and pain. Drogo landed on the ground he looked up and smirked at the Midgar Zolom which was now close to death. It coiled itself up and it prepared to do its Beta attack hoping to take Drogo with it. Drogo however remembered Tifa telling him that some monster, the Midgar Zolom included always did an attack before it died in the hopes of taking its foe with it. Drogo focused all of his energy as his body glowed red and a fiery aura surrounded him.

"BBQ!" He yelled and he quickly brought his hand up causing a sharp, pointed rock to emerge out of the ground and impale the Midgar Zolom to it. The serpent cried out in pain but it knew that it was useless to try and escape. Drogo grinned as he walked up to the rock holding the Midgar Zolom in the air. "Hmmm," he said mockingly to himself as his hands were engulfed in flames again. "Flame grilled Midgar Zolom…GET IT WHILE IT'S RED HOT!" He yelled as he placed both hands on either side of the rock causing it to be ignited and the flames rushed up the rock and literally BBQed the Midgar Zolom alive. Drogo grinned at the flame grilled body of the Midgar Zolom still impaled to the rock. He decided to leave the monster impaled to the rock as proof of his skills, the glow round Drogo's body faded as he de-transformed. He spotted Sunny and Emily a few feet away from the marsh and he ran up to them, Sunny smiled when she spotted him.

"Drogo!" She called out his name as she ran up to him, hugged him and planted numerous kisses on his face. "I'm so glad you're safe, what happened to the Midgar Zolom?"

Drogo grinned at Sunny, "Let's see, it got burned, drenched, shocked and BBQed alive," he answered smugly as he pointed to the burning, deformed body of the Midgar Zolom still impaled on the rock. Sunny shook her head and she couldn't help but smile at him. "How's Emily?" Drogo asked as Sunny let go of him and they walked over to Emily.

"She's fine," Sunny answered, "I cast a healing spell on her, she should wake up now." Just as Sunny said this Emily moaned as she began to stir.

"Emily," Drogo called out his sister's name as he knelt down beside her.

Emily opened her eyes, "huh…Drogo, what happened?"

"We were fighting the Midgar Zolom," Drogo explained to her, "it whacked you with its tail and knocked you out. So I went all elemental on it, now its remains are currently impaled to a smouldering rock." Drogo pointed to the rock with the impaled serpent for the third time and Emily grinned at it.

"Well Drogo," she replied jokingly, "you sure do know how to leave your mark on a place."

Drogo laughed at this, "yeah, I know," he said smugly, "Tifa said that the Mythril Mines were on the other side of this marsh."

Emily's eyes lit up when she heard that, "did you say Mythril?" she asked as Drogo and Sunny helped her to her feet.

Drogo nodded, "I forgot you were a blacksmith," he replied, "you should know all about Mythril."

"It's light but stronger than dragon scales," Emily answered, "it's a common material in weapons and armour, come on, let's go." Drogo, Sunny and Emily walked across the marsh, now that the Midgar Zolom was dead the marsh was safe to cross. Five minutes later and they were in the Mythril Mines.

"Wow!" Sunny and Emily both exclaimed as all three of them looked all around the cavern.

"This place is completely covered in Mythril," Emily observed as she walked over to the walls.

"Well they don't call it Mythril Mines for nothing," Drogo replied as he and Sunny caught up with Emily.

"I want to explore this cave some more," Emily stated, "maybe I can harvest some Mythril and use it to create more weapons and armour." Drogo, Sunny and Emily walked through to the next chamber and they saw that this room was even bigger than the one they were in before.

"This place is so beautiful," Sunny remarked, "and the walls are so shiny too."

"That would be the Mythril," Emily stated as she walked over to another wall, she withdrew her dual wheeler and she began to harvest some of the Mythril from the walls. After half an hour she had collected enough Mythril to create five swords, or five armour plates.

"You got everything you need?" Drogo asked her, Emily nodded, "good," Drogo said satisfied. "Fort Condor and Junon are on the other side of this cave, let's go and check them out." Drogo, Sunny and Emily were about to continue when Drogo's phone rang, he grabbed the phone from his pocket and answered it. "Hello?" He spoke into the phone.

"Drogo, it's Reno," Reno spoke up on the other side of the phone.

"Hey Reno."

"Where are you?" Reno asked Drogo.

"Emily was feeling homesick," Drogo explained, "so me and Sunny decided to take her to see some of the sights. We had a bit of a run in with a Midgar Zolom, but we're ok. We're currently in the Mythril Mines."

"Well could you make your way back to WRO HQ?" Reno asked, "One of Rufus' agents got into contact with him, there's been a breakthrough. Rufus wants to call a meeting when everyone's together."

"Ok," Drogo replied, "we'll get there as soon as we can." Drogo hung up on the phone.

"Who was it?" Sunny asked as she and Emily stared at him.

"That was Reno," Drogo answered, "he wants us to go back to WRO HQ."

"But, we haven't seen everything yet," Emily protested, "I still want to see Junon and Fort Condor."

"That'll have to wait for another time," Drogo told her, "Rufus wants us back now. Apparently one of his agents got into contact with him and they've had a breakthrough, Rufus is gonna call a meeting and he'll explain everything to us."

"I guess saving the world comes first, huh," Emily remarked, Drogo and Sunny nodded, they were heroes themselves and they knew the drill.

"Come on," Drogo said, "let's get back." Drogo, Sunny and Emily walked back through the Mythril mines and five minutes later they were on their way to WRO HQ to find out what Rufus wanted and what the breakthrough was and it was at that moment that they knew they were one step closer to saving the world from darkness.

* * *

**Phew, this chapter took me a couple of weeks to complete, I hope it's ok. This was a bit of a light hearted chapter compared to the previous one, but I can assure you that things will get more serious and sinister from now one. But that doesn't mean that I'll be cutting back on the funny moments. There's definitely more funny moments to come, chapter 23 will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, I do however own characters I created myself.**


	23. Max's Premonition

**Chapter 23: Max's Premonition **

It was early the next morning when everyone entered the meeting room, the entire group yawned and rubbed their eyes as they sat down in their usual places at the meeting table. Rufus was already there stood with his back to the door and he turned round when the group entered the room.

"Aaaahhh," Rufus drawled in his usual manner, "so you all decided to show up." Rufus walked over to the table and he sat down at the head of it not taking his eyes off the group.

"So what's this about?" Cloud asked as he yawned.

"Reno said something about you having a breakthrough," Drogo added as there was general muttering amongst the group.

Rufus held his hand up and the whole group fell silent, "I have the odd agent stationed in Midgar," he explained, "he contacted me yesterday, he said he's discovered a way into the reactors." There was more general muttering as everyone took in this news and Rufus had to ask for silence again, he was about to explain further when Reeve and Cait Sith entered the room.

"There's a highly complex, highly sophisticated network of ventilation shafts underneath the city," Reeve explained as he walked over to where Rufus was sitting. He set up a laptop and a computer projector and he showed the group a computer generated map. "This is a map I generated of the entire area of Midgar," Reeve stated as the group looked at the map. "That large circle round the perimeter of the city represents the eight reactors."

Cid banged his fists on the table impatiently. "Just get to the bloody point!" He yelled irritably.

Reeve ignored Cid and he continued at the same pace, he pressed a button on a remote control he held in his hand and the map changed. "This is a map of the old underground train tunnels, as you can see the vents are a vast network that spread through out the whole of Midgar, including the reactors."

Zack took a closer look at the map, "but those vents look so small," he commented, "you have to be the size of a…" he stopped in mid sentence when he realised that everyone in the room was staring at him. "What?" He asked.

"That's it!" Cloud exclaimed not taking his eyes off Zack, "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"That's right," Aerith agreed, "if Zack used his transformation ability to turn into something small enough to fit through the vents, we might have a chance."

"Hey I'm right here you know," Zack spoke up and he held his hand up to let everyone know.

"They're right though Zack," Reeve told him, "if you can change into something fairly small and navigate the ventilation system you could get into the reactors. Now," he pressed the button on the remote control and the map changed again. "This is a map of reactor 1 where sectors 1 and 8 used to be," Reeve continued with his explanation, "now, as we already know, Hojo has placed extra security in the reactors ranging from laser walls to…"

"Aaaaaahhhh!" Max suddenly cried out in pain causing Reeve to stop what he was saying and everyone stared at Max, Max grabbed hold of both sides of his head as the pain surged through him.

"Max are you ok?" Pandora asked, her voice was filled with concern.

Max looked at her and he found that the pain had stopped, almost as quickly as it came. "I'm fine…" Max answered as he removed his hands from his head, he had a puzzled expression on his face. He looked at Reeve, "sorry Reeve, please continue."

"As I was saying," Reeve picked up where he left off, "Hojo has no doubt added extra security from laser walls to sentry bots, you'll have to be careful when you enter the reactor. Oh, the master security system is in the computer room at the base of the reactor, you find a way to shut it off and we can gain instant access to the reactors and destroy them again."

Zack grinned and he leaned back in his chair, "that's it?" He asked as Reeve nodded, "piece of cake."

Rufus glared at Zack and he was greatly annoyed by the ex SOLDIER's overconfidence. "This is an important mission!" He snapped at Zack, "so don't screw it up! If you can't remove the security within the reactors then we can't do anything else."

"No pressure eh," Zack muttered sarcastically earning him another glare from Rufus.

"I mean it Zack!" Rufus snapped again, "it's time you made good use of your abilities and don't get too cocky, I know your type!"

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…" Zack replied mockingly, "I get it, relax Shinra, I know what I'm doing." Rufus glared at Zack again and he was about to reply when Reeve interrupted him.

"Excellent," Reeve replied, "now Zack when this meeting is over I need you to meet me in my workshop so I can brief you fully and give you a few gadgets to help you."

Zack gave Reeve a playful grin, "I get to play with cool gadgets, sweet."

The rest of the meeting was a complete blur to Max, it was almost as if time seemed to pass more slowly than usual. In fact he wasn't even aware of his surroundings, Max moaned in pain as he felt a sharp and numbing pain in his head. He grabbed hold of both sides of his head and screwed his eyes shut as he heard millions up on millions of voices buzzing round in his head. He knew that they were the voices of the planet but they sounded so distorted and the voices seemed to run so close together that it was difficult to tell when one voice ended and another began. Max's body shook violently and the fur on his face went deathly pale as he began to feel sick and faint. His eyes rolled back in his head as he slowly began to fall from his chair. There were many panicked screams and gasps from the rest of the group as they saw Max fall, and visions of himself being beaten up and captured by shadowy figures flashed in his mind. He could hear himself crying out in pain after each blow, his senses became dulled as his eyes closed and he landed on the floor unaware that his friends were panicking and running towards him.

* * *

Meanwhile in Midgar the mysterious figure grinned evilly as she sensed Max collapsing to the ground. _"It'll only be a matter of time," _she said to herself, her thoughts were interrupted when Hojo entered the room.

"15 of the Life Stream has been corrupted," Hojo informed her.

"It's taking too long!" she snapped at Hojo, "make the reactors work faster!"

"The reactors are already working at full capacity," Hojo said in a panicky tone, "I can't make them work any faster."

His master sighed as she turned to face him, still remaining in the shadows. "The time has almost come when Max will be mine."

Hojo grinned at this remark, "the preparations are already complete," he informed his master.

His master laughed when she heard this, "you always have to be one step ahead."

"When it comes to potential experiments," Hojo replied as his grin grew wider, "I like to be well prepared."

"Just remember our agreement," his master reminded him, "Max remains unharmed until I have what I need, then you can do what you want with him." Hojo rubbed his hands together when he heard this, he loved being sadistic and cruel to his experiments, it didn't matter whether they were human or not, to him, they were the same.

"How will you capture him?" Hojo asked.

"All will be revealed Hojo," his master replied patiently, "I already know his weakness after tapping into his nightmare the other night."

Hojo stared at the woman in shock, "you can tap into people's dreams?"

The woman nodded, "Of course," she answered smugly, "I have dominion over dreams, I can see what people fear most and I play on that fear to make them more vulnerable."

"So catching Max shouldn't be a problem."

The woman shook her head, "if we time it right," she said not taking her eyes off the scientist. "Max is incredibly clever but when it comes to his friends he'll do almost anything. Round up the others!" She ordered Hojo, "I have a job for them."

"Right away master," Hojo replied and he walked off leaving the woman alone.

"_Soon Max, soon you'll be in my grasp." _She laughed out loud at her own statement knowing that it would only be a matter of time before she had Max where she wanted him.

* * *

"_Huh…" _Max thought to himself, _"did I see what I thought I saw?" _He didn't have time to ponder the matter further as he was aware of voices talking all around him.

"_Do you think he's ok?"_

"_He looks terrible."_

"_Well why don't we make you feel dizzy and sick, and make you fall backwards off a chair, and we'll see what you look like!"_

"_He'll probably look a damn sight better than he normally does."_

"_He's waking up!"_

Max moaned softly as he slowly began to stir, his eyes fluttered open and he could just about make out the blurred outlines of his friends faces staring at him. After a few moments his vision became clearer and he could see the whole room clearly.

"Max are you ok?" Pandora asked him.

"Pandora…" Max mumbled under his breath, he slowly sat up and he saw Pandora kneeling next to him with a concerned expression on her face.

"Yeah," Pandora replied, "one minute you were fine and the next minute you collapsed, you really gave us a scare."

"I'm sorry," Max apologised, "I didn't mean to scare everyone."

"Maybe we should put the meeting on hold," Reeve suggested.

"No," Max replied as he staggered to his feet, but he still felt dizzy and he had to hold on to the table for support. "We've wasted enough time already."

"Reeve's right," Sunny agreed with Reeve, "it looked like you hit your head quite hard when you fell…"

Max sighed, he knew that they were right, he collapsed for no apparent reason and what he saw while he was semi conscious greatly disturbed him, but he couldn't tell the others not yet. He didn't want to worry them, especially Pandora. "You're right," Max replied, "I do have a headache, I think I'll go to my room and lie down for a while, continue the meeting without me."

"But you'll miss everything," Tifa stated as Max started to walk slowly out of the room.

"I'll just get the information off Pandora later," Max replied and he walked out of the room before anyone could say anything else.

Half an hour later Max was pacing round his room, he had a puzzled expression on his face, _"What was that?" _He thought to himself becoming even more confused by the minute, he didn't know why he collapsed all of a sudden when he was completely fine. _"Why did I just collapse like that? I felt fine before it happened but now…there's been a lot of weird things going on lately, and what I saw while I was semi conscious. What was it? Was it a dream? Or was it something else? A premonition maybe. If it was a premonition, then what does it mean? Does it mean that I'm in some kind of danger?" _Max found himself mentally panicking at that thought, and he began pacing round the room much more frantically than before trying to find some clue to what he had seen.

"_Or it could just be a dream," _A soft voice spoke up in Max's head and he stopped pacing round the room as soon as he heard it.

"_Hi mum," _Max greeted Aurora, _"I was just…"_

"_Panicking, getting yourself all worked up for nothing," _Aurora finished his sentence off for him.

Max sighed and he sat down on the bed holding his head in his hands, _"What if it's not a dream though?" _He asked his mother, _"what if it comes true? What if it's a vision of what's to come in the future?"_

"_You don't know that for sure," _Aurora replied reassuringly, _"sometimes things happen or we see things that we're not always sure of."_

"_I know," _Max responded but he couldn't hide the worry in his voice.

"_My point is," _Aurora continued, _"why worry about something you can do little to nothing about?"_

_I can see your point mum," _Max spoke up, _"but if it's something to do with my future, then I should be able to do something about it."_

"_There are some aspects of your life that are beyond your control," _Aurora continued to give Max her advice. _"No one knows what the future truly holds, you really shouldn't worry about something that's beyond your control, it could be a premonition, but it could just be a dream. You can never be truly sure but when the time comes, you'll know what to do."_

"_How?" _Max questioned, even though his mother's words had consoled him, they didn't console him much. _"How can I know what to do when the time comes if I don't even know what it is and when it'll happen?"_

"_You're my son," _Aurora reminded him of who he was, _"you're the Prince of our people, soon to be King. Though you are young, you're wise beyond your years. You helped to save the Kitsune World and Terra Firma, you're practically a legend that people will talk about for years to come. If anyone knows what to do in a dire situation then it's you, I have complete faith in you, and so does your father."_

"_Ok," _Max said with a sigh, _"I won't panic about it, thanks mum."_

"_Anytime," _Aurora replied, _"remember you know where I am if you need me," _with that Aurora disappeared leaving Max alone. He sighed again and he lay back on the bed with his hands behind his head and he lay for sometime before there was a knock on the door.

Max suddenly sat up, "Who is it?!" He called out.

"It's me Pandora!" She yelled through the door, "can you unlock the door?" Max got off the bed, he walked over to the door and opened it and Pandora entered the room.

"What was the rest of the meeting about?" Max asked her.

"Well, Rufus and Reeve were basically going over what was said already, we've split off into different groups and each group is going to a different reactor. Zack meanwhile is gonna navigate through the ventilation system under the city to get rid of the security so we can get into the reactors. Reeve is currently debriefing him." Pandora told Max where he was going.

"So I'm gonna be going to the number 1 reactor with you, Cloud, Tifa, Nightshade, Vincent and Isis," he replied and Pandora nodded.

"Yes," she replied, "but more importantly, how are you feeling?"

Max went silent for a minute, a part of him wanted to tell her what he had seen but he seemed to think better of it. _"No," _he said to himself, _"she's already worried about me, the last thing I want is to make her even more worried…_I'm fine," Max said the last part out loud, he knew it was vague but he didn't want to tell her everything.

Pandora gave Max a sceptical stare, "Are you sure?" she asked, "you didn't look fine to me before."

"I just had a bit of a headache," Max answered, "I feel fine now."

Pandora sighed, but she knew how stubborn Max was and that he wasn't always willing to talk, so she decided to leave it for now. "Ok, but if there is something wrong you will let me know won't you?"

Max reached up and stroked the side of Pandora's face to reassure her, "Of course I will," Max replied as wrapped his arms round Pandora's waist and hugged her. "I always do, don't I?" Pandora gave Max another sceptical stare. "Ok, ok, maybe not all the time," Max corrected himself, "but if there is something wrong I will tell you."

Pandora was about to say something but Max quickly kissed her on the lips, Pandora was shocked at first because she didn't expect it but she eventually fell into it. Max and Pandora closed their eyes as they continued to kiss and for a time Max forgot all about his troubles, after all Aurora was right he shouldn't worry about something he wasn't sure about. For what seemed like an eternity the two stood there kissing passionately and everything seemed to slow down around them as if they were in a world of their own. Eventually they broke apart. Pandora stood there breathing heavily but she was happy nevertheless.

"Wow…" she said breathlessly but she was still grinning at Max, "so unexpected and yet it felt so good…"

Max grinned back at her, "yeah," he agreed, "I still think you're a good kisser."

Pandora blushed, "Oh stop!" She yelled playfully.

"No I mean it," Max continued to flatter her, Pandora grinned slyly at him and she pushed him back on to the bed and pinned him on to it, Max looked up at her and he made a purring noise before she fell on top of him and kissed him again.

* * *

**Well there's Chapter 23, sorry it's a bit short, (I know it's shorter than previous chapters) this was really a Max chapter. (The clue was in the title) Was it a dream or was it a vision, you'll find out soon enough, maybe in the next chapter, who knows. Chapter 24 will be coming soon, enjoy. By the way feel free to comment CONSTRUCTIVELY! Thank you.**


	24. Trouble in Midgar

**Chapter 24: Trouble in Midgar**

Max slowly woke up to find the sun peeping in through the window and he could hear the sound of birds singing outside. _"Huh…" _He asked himself as he began to come round, _"what happened?" _He tried to sit up only to find that something was on top of him, he looked up to see Pandora with her head lying on his chest fast asleep with a grin on her face. _"Oh yeah," _he said to himself again he couldn't help but smile, _"now I remember." _He stroked Pandora's hair and not wanting to disturb her he lay there patiently until she woke up herself.

An hour later Pandora began to stir, "Oh…" she moaned as she started to come round.

Max smiled at her, "morning sleeping beauty."

Pandora opened her eyes to Max smiling at her and she smiled back, "how was it?" She asked slyly.

"Wow…" Max replied, "it was…wow…"

Pandora's grin grew wider, "good," she responded as she circled her finger round Max's chest. "I wanted it to be special what with it being our first time."

Max wrapped his arm round her, "Oh it was special," Max stated still smiling.

"_Yeah," _Dark Max agreed, _"it was pleasurable I'll give her that."_

"_And there was me thinking that you didn't like me Dark," _Pandora spoke to Dark Max.

"…_I didn't say that…" _Dark Max faltered, but Pandora gave Max a knowing stare. _"Ok, ok, I admit you were annoying at first with your constant nagging, but now I see you in a more positive light."_

"_Dark," _Max spoke to his dark side, _"do you mind? You're ruining the mood."_

"_Fine," _Dark Max said with a sigh, _"Let me know when there's a battle, of course I'll need to rest after last night." _Dark Max was silent as he fell asleep in Max's head.

"So…" Pandora asked Max, "do you want to get up or stay here?"

"Well, the others will probably be wondering where we are, so we'd better get up." Pandora and Max got out of bed and got changed, as soon as they got changed Pandora walked into the bathroom and locked the door. Fifteen minutes later she came out.

"I just wanted to freshen up," she told Max, "and to make sure I don't you know."

"Yeah, I don't think my dad wants to be a grandfather just yet," Max replied as they walked out of their room.

"What's this about me?" Nightshade asked suddenly causing Max and Pandora to turn round and they saw Nightshade leaning against the wall.

"Dad!" Max yelled in shock, "eh he…we didn't see you there." Max ruffled his hair nervously.

"You two weren't up to anything last night by any chance…" Nightshade half asked and half stated. He stared intently at his son and daughter in law and not once did he take his eyes off them. Max and Pandora said nothing but they stared back at Nightshade, "your room is right next to mine, remember?" He reminded them as he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards them.

"Yeah," Pandora replied still not taking her eyes off Nightshade.

"And you might want to keep your voice down next time," Nightshade told Pandora, but he wasn't meaning it in an unfriendly way, in fact he sounded deeply amused. "You have a set of lungs on you."

"Eh he…" Pandora laughed nervously, "you heard all of that?"

"Every word," Nightshade answered with a sigh, "I guess it's a little too late to tell you about the birds and the bees, I just hope you took precautions."

Pandora placed her hands on her hips and glared at Nightshade, "of course!" she snapped, "what do you take me for?" She demanded as she jabbed a finger into Nightshade's chest.

Nightshade however appeared unfazed by Pandora's threatening demeanour, "all I'm saying is that I don't want to be a granddad at the age 39," he answered as he gave Max and Pandora a sly but stern grin before he walked down the corridor.

"He's really creepy sometimes," Pandora said to Max when she made sure Nightshade was out of earshot, "you know how he's just there sometimes."

"Yeah," Max agreed, "he has that affect on people sometimes. It's just part of who he is, come on, let's go." Max and Pandora walked down the corridor that Nightshade had walked down.

Because Midgar was even more dangerous than usual it was neither recommended nor wise to sneak into the ruined city in broad daylight where they could have easily have been spotted by the enemy. So the group was just doing their own things until the time had come for them to complete their mission. Emily was currently in Reeve's workshop making improvements on her dual wheeler and she did this with the utmost care. Cid was re-fuelling the Sierra and everyone else was in the grounds, Tifa, Angel, Sunny, Yuffie and Red XIII were lay on the grass sunbathing. Aerith was sat on a chair in the shade drinking a tall glass of cool lemonade and reading a book. Zack had turned himself into a grey wolf with black spiky hair and bright blue eyes, he was currently curled up next to Aerith's feet fast asleep. Vincent, Barret and Isis were deep in discussion about their weapons.

"Damn you cat!" Barret got into an argument with Isis as he held his metallic hand up and it morphed into a tri barrelled gatling gun. "My gun is better than yours fool!"

"Ha!" Isis laughed at Barret, "you seriously expect to kill all of your enemies with that peashooter!" She goaded before she materialised two tri barrelled gatling guns in her hands. "These are guns!"

Vincent laughed at both Isis and Barret, "and what are you laughing at?!" Barret demanded as he and Isis glared at Vincent.

"You know, bigger isn't always better," Vincent replied as moved his cape out of the way and took Cerberus out of its holster, "besides," Vincent continued, "there's only one way to settle this."

Barret and Isis continued to stare at Vincent, "How?" They asked, Vincent grinned as he walked over to a machine.

"Target practice…" Barret said as he gave Vincent a sceptical stare.

Vincent's grin grew wider, "unless you're chicken," he said to Barret and Isis.

"Please…I'm a cat," Isis scoffed, "I eat chickens for breakfast."

"Alright," Barret agreed, "you're on!"

Vincent pushed a button and the machine hummed to life, he, Barret and Isis prepared their weapons as targets were shot into the air and the three began to shoot the targets as they were fired into the air. They were half way through the competition when Max and Pandora entered the grounds, they saw Aerith and they walked over to her, Pandora accidentally stood on Zack's tail causing him to leap to his feet and growl fiercely at Pandora.

"Sorry Zack," Pandora apologised as she and Max sat down on chairs round the table, "I didn't see you there."

"It's ok," Zack accepted Pandora's apology as he walked round in a circle before lying down again. "It's gonna take me ages to get back to sleep again," he moaned softly as he looked up at Max, Aerith and Pandora.

Max and Pandora looked all around them and they saw Barret, Vincent and Isis shooting away at the targets, neither of them was willing to back down. "What are they doing?" Max asked Aerith.

"Oh, they're having a my gun is better than yours argument," she answered as she licked her finger and turned the page of her book. Zack managed to get a good look at the front cover.

"Hmmm…Jane Eyre," he read the name of the book out loud, "I remember that book being discussed on a talk show. So you're just gonna do exactly what they tell you."

Aerith glared at Zack, "this book has been around since the 19th century, it's a classic," she replied as she continued to glare at Zack.

"But you only bought it a couple of days ago," Zack remarked.

"No I didn't!" Aerith argued not taking her eyes off Zack.

"Is that why it's got the recommended sticker on the front?" Zack asked as he nudged the front cover of the book with his nose and grinned triumphantly at Aerith.

"Oh…" She marked her page and flipped the book over so that she was looking at the cover and she saw the sticker that Zack had pointed out. "I thought I peeled that off."

"So what are you gonna be reading next time?" Zack asked as his grin grew wider.

"Well I'm not really sure yet but…hey!" Aerith yelled at Zack as she realised what he was getting at. **(A/N, this is a parody of the part in the Family Guy episode PTV where Brian and Stewie are having an argument over a book. It's so funny that I had to make a parody of it in my story, I don't own this part but I wish I did. Family Guy belongs to 20th Century Fox) **

"Oh I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this," Zack said as he tried hard not to laugh, Aerith continued to glare at him. Zack yawned and stretched out before he curled himself up again. "Ok, I'm gonna go back to sleep now." He rested his head on his paws and he fell asleep.

"I wonder how long they've been at it." Pandora stated as she and Max continued to stare at Barret, Vincent and Isis.

"About half an hour," A voice spoke up from behind, Max and Pandora turned round to see Cloud standing there. "And from the looks of things," he continued, "I'd say they'll be at it for a while."

"Well Isis is stubborn," Max replied, "Barret can also be stubborn and Vincent…well he's just being Vincent."

Cloud, Aerith, Max and Pandora continued to watch Barret, Isis and Vincent as they shot the targets down with amazing skill. About an hour or so later Barret and Vincent couldn't go on anymore and they admitted defeat to Isis.

"See," Isis gloated as Barret and Vincent glared at her, "I told you my guns were better, you didn't stand a chance with those peashooters of yours!" Isis turned tail and she strutted back into the building leaving Barret and Vincent scowling in her wake.

Cloud laughed when he saw that, "I never thought I'd see the day when Barret and Vincent would get their asses handed to them in target practice," he remarked as Max, Pandora and Aerith also laughed.

"Yeah," Max agreed, "Isis is extremely skilled when it comes to hitting her target, that's why she's…aaahhhh!" Max cried out in pain as he grabbed both sides of his head. His vision blurred temporarily but all of a sudden the pain had gone.

"Max are you ok?" Pandora asked him, her voice was filled with concern. Max removed his hands from his head and he looked up to see Pandora, Cloud, Aerith and even Zack who was woken up by Max's yelling were all staring at him.

"Yeah…" Max answered slowly, "I'm fine."

"Did you have another headache?" Aerith questioned as Pandora placed her hand on Max's forehead.

"Well you're temperature's normal," Pandora replied looking confused.

"I know," Max responded, he too was confused about the whole thing. "I seem to be getting a lot of headaches lately and I don't know why." This was actually a half lie, he had a rough idea of what was going on but he wasn't 100 sure. He knew that the headaches were a warning of some kind, but what it was warning him about he didn't know. However he didn't want to tell the others just yet, he didn't want to worry them. He knew that they were all still staring at him, he needed to think, but he couldn't think if he was surrounded by everyone else. He needed to find a quiet spot so he could think about the situation and decide what to do. "Listen, I'm gonna go for a walk, clear my head." Max told everyone as he slowly got to his feet.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Pandora asked him.

"No," Max replied as he started to stagger off, "I need some time alone." Before anyone could say another word Max had disappeared round the corner. Pandora sighed sadly and she hung her head, Aerith placed her hand on Pandora's to reassure her.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Aerith said encouragingly, "a walk will do him good."

Max continued to walk slowly round the grounds, and it wasn't long before his head started to pound again. "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" He cried out as he quickly grabbed hold of his head again, he fell to his knees as the pain pulsed through his whole body. He was shaking violently and he felt faint and sick, he held his hands out in front of him and he stared at them in shock as they shook. _"What's happening to me?" _He asked himself as his vision gradually began to blur until all he could see was a blinding white light. His eyes rolled in his head so that only the whites were showing, he saw the same vision he saw the night before only it was much more vivid. Visions filled Max's head as he collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Huh…" Max's eyes fluttered open and he found himself lying on the ground, he lifted his head up to see the sun beginning to set. "How long was I out for?" Max asked himself out loud as he slowly dragged himself to his feet. The pain in his head had long since subsided and he didn't feel so sick anymore, but he still felt a bit faint. "What's going on?" Max questioned again out loud but to no one in particular. "I better start heading back," Max slowly walked back the way he had came, when he got there he was shocked to find that everyone had gone. Max scratched his head thoughtfully as he looked all around him, "I guess I have been out for a while," he chuckled to himself, "everyone's probably wondering where I've got to." Max turned round and started walking towards the main entrance to the building when white mist began to shroud him like a cloak passing through his nose and windpipe, "What is this?" Max coughed as the mist continued to surround him blocking everything out. "All I can see is white, am I going blind? HELP ME PLEASE! SOMEBODY! I'M TRAPPED IN A THICK MIST AND I CAN'T GET OUT!" How long Max was shouting for he didn't know, but he gave up when he realised that no one could hear him, after a while the mist cleared and disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

"Huh…" Max uttered looking confused, "what was that?" He asked himself, everything looked perfectly clear now, and not seeing anything unusual he shrugged and turned round to walk back inside the building again when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Max turned round to see Pandora stood in front of a tree staring at him. "Pandora!" Max called out her name, Pandora didn't say anything, she merely winked at Max and she walked behind the tree and down the path. Max ran in the direction he saw Pandora walk in hoping to catch up with her. "Hey! Wait up!" Max continued to call after her as she left the WRO grounds and took off to flight.

"Hmmm…" Max thought to himself, "there's no way I can keep up with her now, unless…." Ten minutes later Max was speeding down the highway on his bike, he had a look of determination on his face as though he was possessed and not once did he let Pandora out of his sight.

Pandora continued to lead him down the highway passed Kalm, she looked back every so often to check that he was still following her, she didn't stop once until she flew over Edge and into Midgar. "Damn!" Max yelled as he banged his fist on his bike, "what's gotten into her?" He sped through Edge unaware that people were staring at him, eventually he got out of Edge and headed towards Midgar. He drove passed Aerith's church and he was about to go further when his bike ran out fuel, Max quickly got off his bike and he continued the rest of the way on foot. He eventually saw Pandora just standing where the old Shinra building used to be.

"Pandora!" Max called her name out again as he ran up to her, "I finally caught up with you, what the hell is wrong with…" Max didn't have to time to finish the rest of his sentence as the same mist that he saw earlier began to surround him again as Pandora slowly disappeared into the mist. "PANDORA!" Max yelled as the mist disappeared. "Huh?" Max looked all around him and he was confused like he had just woken up from a bizarre dream but he knew that it wasn't a dream. He looked back to where Pandora was a few moments ago. "Where did she go?" Max asked himself, he didn't have time to think about it any further as an all too familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Well, well, well, looks like the Kitsune wants to play again!" Max turned round to see Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz stood behind him holding their weapons.

"So it was trap," Max whispered half to himself, he couldn't believe it.

Kadaj walked towards Max, "you catch on quick," he stated as Yazoo and Loz laughed, "I guess our master and Hojo weren't lying when they said that you had above average intelligence."

Max held his arm out to the side as his sword materialised in his hand, he walked towards the trio with a grin on his face. "I was wondering when you jackasses would show up," he goaded them.

Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz glared at Max, Loz cracked his knuckles and prepared the Dual Hound, "What did you call us?!" He screamed at Max, Max however wasn't fazed.

"I said you were jackasses!" Max repeated loudly as he held his sword out in front of him. "I guess you guys want another thrashing!"

"Perhaps it is you that wants a thrashing!" Yazoo shot back.

"I can take you guys on any day of the week!" Max retorted.

"Is that right?" Kadaj demanded as he stared intently at Max.

"Yeah!" Max answered grinning smugly, "and I could do it blindfolded, with one hand behind my back!"

Kadaj laughed at this, "I like you," he stated as he withdrew his weapon, Yazoo withdrew the Crimson Velvet gun blade. "But do you seriously think you can take on all of us?"

Huh?" Max looked all around him to see Balthazar, Scarlet, Rosso, Nero, Azul, Weis and Sephiroth surround him. But it didn't take long for the smug smile to creep back on to his face. "Bring it on!" Max yelled at the group as he brought his sword forwards, "I'm ready!" Max felt the last of his common sense leave him as he prepared himself for battle, Max knew that the odds were against him but at that moment in time he didn't really care. He watched as the group formed a tight circle around him, completely surrounding him. With a cry everyone charged forwards as several weapons clashed with Max's.

Max stared into the eyes of Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, Weis and Sephiroth as they all focused their energy into forcing Max back. Max however wasn't willing to back down, once he had gotten over the shock of all five weapons clashing against his own weapon at the same time. He pushed back against their weapons with all his might, with a yell he managed to force them all back and knock their weapons away from his. He quickly rolled out of the to avoid a vertical slice from Kadaj's weapon and he quickly brought his sword round to parry against Kadaj, Weis and Sephiroth who were attacking him with vicious sword combos causing Max to duck, dodge, roll and parry. He was so focused on the three swordsmen plus Yazoo and Loz that he didn't even see a foot fly out of nowhere and kick him square in the jaw, the blow was so powerful that it sent Max flying backwards and slamming back first into some ruins. Before Max had a chance to get up a boot clad foot slammed down on his chest, Max looked up to see Scarlet grinning evilly at him.

"Hello Max," she said evilly as she twisted her foot round to make it harder for Max to escape. Max struggled against her foot, he eventually grabbed hold of it and threw her off him. He leapt to his feet and pointed his sword at her.

"Scarlet," Max spat her name like a bitter poison, he hadn't forgotten all the damage she had caused and it would've given him great pleasure to kill her again.

"Oh," Scarlet asked mockingly as she eyed his sword, "are you going to let your sword do the work, or are you going to fight me like a man?!" She scoffed as she held her fists out in front of her and got into a fighting stance.

Max took one look at his sword and it disappeared to be replaced by two metallic red gauntlets and they fitted easily on to his hands Max punched forwards twice to test out the gauntlets and he grinned at Scarlet. "I don't need to use my sword to take on the likes of you!" He retorted as he got into a fighting stance, he brought his front leg back slightly and he gave Scarlet a just bring it gesture with his hand.

Scarlet charged at Max drawing her fist back as she did so, when she approached closer and closer to Max she quickly thrust her fist forwards but Max leapt out of the way just in time and with lightning speed he grabbed Scarlet's arm and twisted it round causing her to cry out in pain. Max then spun her round kicked her on the back, Scarlet reached her leg up and booted Max hard in the stomach with the heel of her boot winding him. The shock of the blow caused Max to release Scarlet's arm, he staggered a few inches backwards one hand clasped over his stomach breathing deeply. Scarlet grinned when she saw her chance and performed a sweeping kick knocking Max's legs out from underneath him. Max landed flat on his back and he saw Scarlet leap into the air and thrust her foot downwards aiming to strike Max in the stomach again. Max brought his feet into his body and as Scarlet fell to the ground Max thrust his legs upwards to kangaroo kick Scarlet, his feet made contact with her stomach as Max forced her away from him knocking her flying into the rubble and she lay there motionless.

Max staggered to his feet and breathed deeply, but his break didn't last long as Max sensed that there was someone behind him and he quickly turned round spinning his leg to roundhouse kick whoever was behind him but the person held their hand out and caught Max's foot in mid kick. Max looked up to see Balthazar stood there holding his foot grinning evilly at him.

"It seems you're losing your touch," Balthazar said mockingly, "or maybe it's because you're so used to using a sword now that your gauntlet skills have been a little…neglected."

"Hardly…" Max spat as he thrust his free leg into Balthazar's stomach and pushed out. The shock caused Balthazar to release Max's leg, Max performed a back flip in midair and he landed safely on both feet. "I think it's you that's losing your touch!" Max mocked as Balthazar lunged at him with his fist, Max dodged out of the way. "Or maybe you're just a little slow in your old age!" Max continued to goad Balthazar, Balthazar growled at him as he and Max paced round each other and without warning the two Kitsunes launched themselves at each other striking out with vicious combos of punches and kicks. Balthazar and Max punched, kicked, dodged and grappled, but hard as they tried neither could get an effective blow in. Max received a sudden foresight as Scarlet along with Rosso and Loz joined in the fray, he quickly moved to the side as Loz launched Scarlet at him and Max had to duck quickly as Rosso performed a horizontal slash with her double bladed weapon, Max quickly made his left hand gauntlet disappear and his sword reappeared in his hand and he swung it round to block Rosso's attack as she swung her blade round again and the two weapons clashed. Meanwhile while Max was using his sword to fend off Rosso's attack he was using his remaining hand to fight off both Balthazar and Scarlet. Max, Rosso, Balthazar and Scarlet all leapt into the air as Loz jumped into the air and slammed his Dual Hound into the ground to cause an earthquake. Max continued to fight Balthazar and Scarlet with his right hand and he blocked and struck at Rosso with his sword. Max tried to read all of their minds to determine what they were going to do next, but his mind reading abilities weren't strong enough to read the minds of several enemies at once and as all four of them landed back on the ground again Max realised that he was at a severe disadvantage. _"Damn!" _He cursed to himself as he knocked both Scarlet and Balthazar back and dodged another one of Rosso's strikes. _"I can fight them easily on their own, but when they fight in a group…" _Max didn't have time to finish his thoughts as he felt several powerful punches hit him at once and he was sent flying back into another ruined building. Max rolled out of the way just as Loz lunged at him with the Dual Hound and the spikes were pierced into the building where Max's head was a few seconds ago. Loz yanked the Dual Hound out of the building and lunged at Max again as Max made his other gauntlet disappear, the sound of clanging metal could be heard as Max's sword clashed against Loz's Dual Hound and sparks flew as Max dragged his sword against Loz's Dual Hound, concentration was etched on both of their faces as each one tried to force the other back and it looked like Max was having the upper hand as he continued to force Loz back, however with a grin Loz disappeared from Max's sight.

"Huh?" Max asked himself as he stared at the place Loz was before, he was so focused on that spot that he didn't see Loz behind him.

"He…" Loz laughed to himself as he reeled his fist back and before Max knew what has happening Loz performed a powerful uppercut knocking him into the air. Loz leapt up after him and he punched Max in the face before he sped behind Max and punched him in the back and he kept whizzing back and forth until Max was knocked senseless. Loz then disappeared and reappeared above Max, he looked up but before he could react Loz aimed his fist downwards and struck knocking Max right out of the air. Kadaj was stood directly below where Max was falling and with a grin he held his sword up hoping to impale Max on it. Fortunately, Max came to his senses just in time and he swung his sword round so that it struck with Kadaj's sword as he landed with a thud on the ground, breathing heavily and sporting many wounds and bruises from the battle. Kadaj seeing his chance ran towards Max dragging his sword along the ground and bringing it upwards above his head as he approached Max preparing to strike down on him. Max rolled out of the way barely dodging the attack, unfortunately he wasn't able to completely avoid it as he felt the sword slash against his leg.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Max cried out in pain, he knew that his leg had been wounded but he didn't look at it, he knew that the battlefield wasn't the time or the place to tend to wounds. He staggered to his feet and limped slightly as he tried to balance himself, seeing that his opponent was injured Kadaj swung his sword round to strike at Max again, but Max was ready for him this time and he managed to parry the attack. Max quickly turned his head round to the sound of gunshots and he saw Yazoo, Loz and Weis shooting at him with their gun blades, Max ducked and dodged as he narrowly avoided the barrage of bullets flying in his direction. He stood up again but he didn't notice three more bullets flying in his direction until they pierced his left side. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Max yelled in pain again as he felt his old scar reopen as memories of that fateful night when he was shot flashed in front of his eyes and the gunshots rang in his ears. But still Max refused to back down even when both Weis and Sephiroth charged at him and combined their attacks with Kadaj.

Max had to duck again to avoid being decapitated by Weis' overhead attack, he dodged to the left as Kadaj did a vertical strike and he dodged again to the right as Sephiroth also performed a vertical strike. Max swung his sword round to parry against Kadaj, Weis and Sephiroth he also hoped to force them back as well but his parry was weak and his swing was slower than usual. Sensing this, Kadaj, Weis and Sephiroth doubled their attacks, striking faster in the hopes of breaking through Max's defences all the while forcing the wounded Kitsune back. Max however continued to defend himself with the little strength he had left, his main aim now was to survive, getting blows in didn't matter to him anymore as long as he survived this battle. He swung his sword round to block against attacks from all three sides, however his defences became weaker as Max began to succumb to his wounds and fatigue. Max's sword arm fell limp at his side, but he still managed to hold on to his sword, the energy and vigour he had at the beginning of the battle had long since died out and both Max's mind and body were about ready to give in, he looked at Kadaj, Weis and Sephiroth hoping that they'd just end the battle, but they had other ideas. Before Max even knew what was happening, he was sent flying backwards and his back slammed heavily into the base of the ruined Shinra building.

Max slid down the wall and landed painfully on the ground, before he even had a chance to move he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He looked over to his right to see a long sword sticking into his shoulder pinning him to the wall. He followed the sword with his eyes to see Sephiroth holding the other side of it, there was an evil grin on his face. Max winced in pain as he looked into those cold, staring green eyes and back to the sword again. "Uhhhhh…" Max moaned softly as he slowly lifted his left arm up and brought it to his right shoulder, his hand gripped the blade and he tried to remove the sword from his shoulder but he was just too weak.

Sephiroth merely laughed at him, "you put up a brave fight I'll give you that!" He scoffed as Max continued to struggle, "but it looks like we have the upper hand."

"I doubt it…" Max weakly shot back, "you guys lure me here, you beat me up, you shoot me, you slash at me and you stab me in the shoulder…" Max continued his feeble attempts to remove the sword from his shoulder. "What else could you possibly do to me?"

Sephiroth's grin grew wider, "oh, I'm sure we have a plan up our sleeves," Sephiroth replied mockingly as he looked down at the sword. Max looked down to see that the sword was glowing green.

"What the…" Max asked as he glared at Sephiroth, "what the hell did you do?" Sephiroth's grin grew even wider as he moved one of his hands from the handle to reveal a small, glowing, green orb. "Materia…" Max muttered barely above a whisper.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Sephiroth laughed as he saw the look of shock on Max's face, "sweet dreams…"

Sephiroth's voice and all the voices around him started to fade out as Max was slowly being overwhelmed by waves of sleepiness. Max's hand fell away from the sword and fell limp at his side as he felt the last of his strength leave him, Max's head slumped down as he finally drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Chapter 24 is finally finished, poor Max what will become of him? What do the bad guys have in store for him? And will his friends be able to save him before his fate is sealed? Find out in chapter 25, which will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, they belong to Square Enix. I do however own characters I created myself. Also, the bit where Zack and Aerith were arguing about the book Aerith was reading was a parody from an episode of Family Guy called PTV, I don't own this, Family Guy belongs to 20th Century Fox.**


	25. Max the Captive

**Chapter 25: Max the Captive**

**Ancient Kitsune will be written in bold, I'll also write what Max is saying in English in brackets next to it so that you'll be able to understand it.**

* * *

"Uhhhhh…" Max moaned as he began to stir, "Where am I?" Even though he wasn't fully conscious he was aware of the pain he was in. He slowly opened his eyes but he had to squint as he was greeted by a bright white glare. He winced as he felt a combination of the throbbing pain in his head and the sharp pains in his leg, side and shoulder. Max tried to move, but then he realised that he couldn't, "Huh…why can't I move?" Max asked himself, as he tried to move again. His head weighed a tonne and his arms ached as Max felt them being twisted at unnatural angles. He curled his fingers up and he could feel something digging into his wrists, he tried to stretch his arms out but something was binding them at the elbows, he felt like a prisoner.

"Aaaahhh, so you're awake," A high pitched voice suddenly spoke, Max lifted his head up and opened his eyes to the sound of the voice and to his horror he saw himself face to face with none other than…

"Hojo…" Max muttered weakly as his vision became a little more clearer, _"how could this have happened?" _Max found himself asking, _"the last thing I remember is falling asleep…they must've captured me while I was unconscious…"_

Hojo grinned at Max, "It's good to see that you remember my name," he replied as he closed the cell door behind him and walked over to Max. "I heard you put up quite a fight out there, then again I can't expect anything less from Max Borealis."

"Humph," Max retorted as he struggled to move forwards, his vision was gradually becoming clearer and clearer but it was still slightly blurred. "I'm touched that you can remember my name."

Hojo laughed when he heard this, "Still as witty as ever," he said half to himself and half to Max. "Well let's take a good look at you," Hojo walked up to Max and he began to slowly pace round him, Hojo muttered to himself as he began to inspect Max.

Max's eyes followed Hojo as the scientist continued to pace round, Hojo stopped at Max's right hand side and he began to prod at Max's shoulder with his pen. "Aaaaahhhhh!" Max cried out in pain, he quickly looked away as a sharp pain surged through his body. Tears formed in his tightly closed eyes but he quickly fought them back, he didn't want Hojo to know that he was causing him pain, he didn't want to give Hojo the satisfaction. Max slowly opened his eyes again and he looked at his right shoulder, he was surprised to see that a tight bandage had been applied. He looked down and he was shocked to find that he was topless. _"What happened to my tunic?" _Max asked himself, he looked down at his left to see that another bandage had been applied to his side. Pain still surged through Max's body but it was slowly dying down.

"Hmmm…" Hojo continued to mutter, "it would seem that your wounds haven't fully healed yet."

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Max screamed at the scientist as he struggled frantically and he tried to use his telekinetic powers to force Hojo away from him but nothing happened.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically as he watched Max's vain attempts to get him to leave. "Look behind you."

"Huh…" Max uttered as he slowly turned his head, it was at that moment that he realised he was sat on a chair. His arms were securely tied behind his back and the chair was bolted to the floor, he looked down his arms to see a gold bracelet round his wrist. "What the…"

"That my boy is a rune bracelet," Hojo answered as Max turned his head back round to face Hojo again.

"A rune bracelet…" Max repeated as he glared at Hojo, "but that's Kitsune technology!" He yelled still glaring at Hojo, "how did you get hold of it?"

"Courtesy of your uncle and cousin," Hojo replied as he grinned evilly at Max.

"Ha!" Max scoffed, as he glared at Hojo unable to believe that Hojo even dared to use Kitsune technology against him. "An insane lunatic like you can't even begin to understand Kitsune technology."

Hojo scowled at Max, "Humph, if you must know, it was I who modified the original design!" Hojo shouted at Max as he jabbed a spidery finger into Max's bare chest. "You're unable to use your magic powers," Hojo explained the evil grin was back on his face, "and your psychic powers, including your powers of Life Partner, yes I know all about that."

Max could feel the anger welling up inside him as he heard Hojo say all this, Hojo's scratchy voice ringing in his already aching ears. Max focused all of his energy to change into his Dark Form ready to give Hojo a good beating, but nothing happened instead he received an electric shock. "Ouch!" Max yelled in pain as electricity pulsed through his body.

"_Ok…" _Dark Max uttered in pain, _"don't try that again…"_

"Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed at Max's pain, "oh I forgot to mention that you can't transform either without feeling the pain.," Hojo explained, "also you'll get an electric shock if you try anything, like trying to escape or more importantly try to cause harm to me. You see while you wear that bracelet you're under our control."

"Grrrrrr…" Max growled angrily at Hojo and he glared at the mad scientist still laughing evilly and it made Max's skin crawl, then he thought of an idea to get under Hojo's skin. _"Ok, so I won't be able to use my powers to get out of this one," _Max thought to himself, _"but I can still toy with him in other ways."_

Max looked up and he grinned at Hojo, "**Kai Hojo! Tal Nay ar falce yas kuntel taki yas nurs! Nay dant'd halle mai wats tu sal ut en belta! coosel's ar heda! tarre ar pipal nekk**!" (Hey Hojo! If I had a face as butt ugly as yours! I wouldn't even have the guts to step out in public! here's a hint! wear a paper bag!) Max yelled at Hojo in a foreign language leaving Hojo staring at Max in shock and confusion.

"What…" Hojo uttered still confused at what Max had said. "What did you say to me?"

Max's grin grew wider as he continued to insult Hojo in Ancient Kitsune. "**Kai Hojo! Nay't culad nursai tal Nay fura nu! Damac nu errer quelle ven mai san en fullre mantle dant ryu tur nu**!" (Hey Hojo! I'd watch yourself if I were you! Because you never know when the men in white coats would come for you!)

Hojo ran up to Max, he grabbed hold of Max's shoulders and he started shaking him violently. "SPEAK ENGLISH!" Hojo screamed at Max.

Max however was unfazed and he continued to insult Hojo in the same fashion. "**Kai Hojo! Nu cusp bay nalmar tellec en melenti ef nu way'd halle vellai ut falt nay'm syineg! Cusa ar luxen raytenalor nu tem**...Mmmmmmm…" (Hey Hojo! You must be really lacking in intelligence if you can't even figure out what I'm saying! Use a pocket translator you dumb...) Max didn't finish the rest of his sentence as Hojo in his frustration had taken a roll of duct tape out of his coat pocket and slid it across Max's mouth.

"I've had just about enough of your smart mouth!" Hojo yelled as Max glared at him, "perhaps this ought to shut you up!" Max glared at Hojo and he tried to yell at the mad scientist but all that came out was a mumble that was blocked by the duct tape. "Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically, "finally you're making sense, well, I have to return to my lab and make a few last minute preparations." Max continued to glare at Hojo, "in the meantime you can stay here alone with your thoughts, but don't worry, soon one of my associates will come and keep you company." Still laughing like a maniac Hojo walked out of the cell and the door slammed behind him. Max sighed as he heard the door slam shut, he hung his head sadly and his ears drooped as he realised how much danger he was actually in, he didn't know what Hojo nor even his master for that matter had planned for him but he knew that it couldn't be good. He closed his eyes as he slowly drifted into his thoughts.

* * *

After spending hours cleaning and polishing her Grieve Edge, (**A/N, the Grieve Edge is a metal toe cover with numerous spikes on it and is deadly at close range.**) Pandora had finally clipped them back on to her boots and she kicked out a couple of times to test them.

"Yeah, they're still in good condition," Pandora said to herself as she gazed admiringly at her weapons. "They're now so shiny I can see my reflection in them." She finally looked up and for the first time she realised that Max wasn't there.

"Max?" Pandora called out his name as she looked round the room, "Max where are you?" She searched the room again more frantically this time. _"Ok Pandora," _she reassured herself, _"just relax, ask the others, someone's bound to have seen him." _Pandora ran out of the room not bothering to lock the door when she ran headlong into Nightshade. "Sorry," she apologised to her father in law.

"Why am I getting a feeling of déjà vu here?" Nightshade asked her.

"Probably because it happened this morning," Pandora answered him, "have you seen Max anywhere?" It was her turn to ask a question.

Nightshade shook his head, "I haven't seen him since this morning," he replied, "anyway, I thought he was with you."

Pandora shook her head, "he went for a walk a few hours ago," she answered a hint of worry in her voice, "I haven't seen him since."

"Well he can't have just disappeared!" Nightshade snapped as he walked down the corridor, Pandora followed him, "someone's bound to have seen him."

After spend half an hour searching the place Pandora and Nightshade finally met the rest of the group at the entrance. "What's wrong?" Cloud asked as Pandora and Nightshade approached the group.

"You guys haven't seen Max anywhere have you?" Pandora questioned them, they shook their heads much to her dismay, followed by an awkward silence.

"We haven't seen him since this afternoon," Sunny replied, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Max is always wandering off," Drogo added calmly, he was currently leaning against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed. "He's always had that habit."

"Or maybe the S.O.B. got scared and ran off with his tails between his legs!" Cid stated loudly much to both Angel and Pandora's annoyance. Angel was annoyed because Cid had cursed again, and Pandora was annoyed because Cid had insulted her husband.

"Max is not a coward!" Pandora snapped as she jabbed her finger into Cid's chest and glared at him, Cid however wasn't fazed.

"Well he could've fooled us!"

"Are you saying my son's a coward?!" Nightshade yelled threateningly as he too started laying into Cid. Everyone stared at the three of them and with a flash of red Vincent stepped in between them.

"This is no time to argue," he said calmly as he glared at Cid, Pandora and Nightshade with his blood red eyes.

"Oh who asked you freak!?" Cid yelled at Vincent, this caused a massive uproar and everyone except Cloud, Zack and Aerith were arguing.

"Guys…" Cloud tried to get everyone's attention but they carried on arguing, "guys…" he tried again and still they carried on. "Guys!" He yelled at the top of his lungs but he still failed to get their attention. Suddenly a loud roar filled the room causing everyone to stop what they were doing, they looked over in Cloud's direction and they saw Zack in the form of a black panther standing next to Cloud. Cloud turned to the panther, "thanks Zack."

"You're welcome," Zack responded as he changed back into his human form.

"Ok, now that I've finally got your attention!" Cloud spoke up, "a member of our team is missing, instead of arguing amongst ourselves, let's think about this logically. Now, we all saw Max this afternoon, right?" Cloud asked the group and everyone nodded.

"But where is he now?" Pandora asked staring hopefully at Cloud.

"I don't know," Cloud answered and Pandora looked away in disappointment, "but we'll find him, we just need to figure out where he was heading."

"Well, we know that he's no longer in the WRO grounds," Reno stated, "the security cameras can tell us that much."

"That doesn't help much," Pandora replied sadly. "He could be anywhere."

"Well unless he can fly," Drogo muttered sarcastically, "he won't have left this continent." Pandora glared at Drogo, "What?" Drogo asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Drogo's right," Cloud cut in before Pandora could say anything, "Max won't have left this continent, this continent is small compared to say the Western continent."

"Question is, where did he go?" Lance asked the group.

Everyone thought about where Max could've got to when Aurora suddenly spoke up in Nightshade's head. _"Nightshade!" _She yelled urgently, _"Max is in grave danger!"_

"_What do you mean?" _Nightshade asked her.

"_He's been held captive!" _Aurora answered her voice was filled with worry.

Nightshade started to get worried when he heard that his son was being held prisoner. _"Where?" _Nightshade questioned.

"_He's in Midgar," _Aurora replied, _"but I'm not sure where, please Nightshade, you have to find him!" _Aurora pleaded.

"_Don't worry, I will," _Nightshade reassured her, Aurora then disappeared from Nightshade's head. He then looked at the others, "ok, I've got some good news and I've got some bad news," he informed the group.

"What's the good news?" Pandora asked him.

"I know where he is," Nightshade answered, "he's in Midgar, but…"

"What?" Everyone asked as they stared at the Kitsune.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Reno added.

"He's been held captive," Nightshade replied.

"What?!" Pandora yelled at the top of her lungs, "we have to get to Midgar!"

"Right," Nightshade agreed, "Cid…" Nightshade was about to ask Cid to prepare the Sierra but he was interrupted.

"Wait!" Tifa cut in, everyone turned to stare at her, "you can't just go wandering into Midgar," she said, "that place is dangerous, the ruins are crawling with monsters and besides, Midgar is a bigger area, it'll be difficult to find Max."

"So what do you suggest!?" Pandora snapped at Tifa, "my husband is out there! Who knows what those creeps will be doing to him!"

"Hmmm…" Tifa replied as she thought of an answer, she then looked over at Zack grinning.

"What?" Zack asked as everyone started to stare at him, "what are you all looking at me for?"

"Zack," Cloud said as he walked over to his friend, "we need you to fly over Midgar to see if you can find Max."

"What do you want me to do?" Zack questioned with an air of sarcasm in his voice, "sprout wings…" Everyone scowled at him and Zack sighed irritably, "I don't have a choice do I?"

"Please Zack," Aerith pleaded with her boyfriend, Zack sighed again and he turned himself into a hawk. Drogo opened the front door and with a beat of his powerful wings, Zack flew out of the open door towards Midgar.

"I hope he can find Max," Pandora whispered fearfully.

"Don't worry," Aerith replied reassuringly, "Zack has a keen eyesight, if there is something even slightly out of the ordinary, he'll pick it up." Pandora nodded but she didn't say anything as she knew there was nothing she could do at that point.

"_I hope Max is ok," _She said to herself.

* * *

Max continued to struggle against his bonds, wincing in pain as he did so, his wounds hadn't fully healed yet. How long he was there for he didn't know, to him it felt like an eternity, because he was underground he didn't even know whether it was day or night. All he knew was that he was in a lot of trouble and he had to find a way out of it, but with all of his powers blocked there was nothing he could do. He couldn't even get into contact with Pandora or Nightshade to ask for help, for the first time in a while Max felt vulnerable and alone.

Knowing that escape was futile Max closed his eyes hoping against hope that this was all just a bad dream, that he'd wake up in his own bed with Pandora next to him. However it was only when he heard the creak of the cell door opening that Max was brought back to reality and he knew once and for all that it wasn't a dream.

Max slowly opened his eyes to see Loz stood in front of him grinning, "he, he…" Loz laughed as he punched his hand with his fist, still grinning inanely. "I've been waiting to do this for so long!" Loz shouted excitedly as he reeled his fist back and before Max even knew what was happening he felt a sharp pain as Loz's fist slammed into his face. Max winced slightly but he didn't cry out, he didn't want to give Loz the satisfaction. (**A/N, compared to what Max has been through in the past, Loz's punches feel like taps to him.**) Loz brought his fist back as Max turned his face back towards Loz, he had one eye open as the other eye was badly bruised by Loz's punch.

Max winced and he almost cried out in pain as he felt Loz's fist punch him in ever available spot. Max's vision blurred as he slowly blacked out, but not before he saw Loz's fist punch him square in the face. "Say goodnight…again!" Loz yelled as Max finally passed out. Loz stared at Max's unconscious form for five whole minutes when he heard Hojo's shrill voice on the loud speaker.

"LOZ YOU MUSCLE BOUND, SILVER HAIRED, BUFFOON! WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?!" Hojo demanded as Loz stared blankly at the vibrating loud speaker on the wall.

"Errr…I was just…" Loz stammered as he made crude gestures at Max's unconscious body. "Getting my revenge on Max by giving the five tailed bastard a savage beating!"

"JUST HURRY UP AND BRING THE PRISONER TO THE LAB!" Hojo interrupted, frustrated at Loz's lack of intelligence. "OH AND LOZ! HE IS A RARE AND VALUABLE SPECIMEN SO IF HE DIES AS A RESULT OF YOUR SAVAGE BEATING! I'M HOLDING YOU PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE AND THE MASTER WILL BE SEVERELY PISSED OFF IF YOU ALLOW HER PRISONER TO DIE!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Loz replied dismissively as he walked over to Max, he untied the cuffs binding Max to the chair and he ripped the tape off Max's mouth. Max winced in pain as he felt the tape being ripped off his now sore mouth, Loz then picked up Max and swung him round on his shoulder and he carried the captive Kitsune out of the cell.

In the lab Hojo was busy preparing his equipment, he had several empty needles and he had cleaned the last one when he heard a voice behind him. "So," A female voice spoke behind Hojo, "is everything ready?"

"Yes Miss Illusion," Hojo answered as he turned to the shadows and bowed, "all we need is the prisoner and we're all set."

"Good," Illusion replied as she slowly stepped forwards out of the shadows to reveal a dark purple, female Dark Kitsune with long black hair that trailed the length of her back, she had gleaming yellow eyes which glowed lustfully and her fanged mouth was curled into an evil grin. She wore a long black robe with a symbol on the back of it. (**A/N, as you may have already guessed, Illusion is a necromancer and she also has the power over dreams and illusions, hence her name. She is 9000 years old but she looks like she's in her 30s.**) She also wore black high heeled shoes and black elbow length gloves, her nine tails flowed gracefully behind her as she walked. She walked over to where Hojo was stood, "finally," she said with a hint of anticipation in her voice, "with Max's DNA I can make my army stronger, strong enough to not only take over this pitiful planet, but the whole universe!" She cackled loudly as she said this and Hojo laughed along with her. She suddenly stopped laughing and she looked towards the lab door. "Loz is taking too long, what's keeping him…speak of the devil," Illusion muttered as Loz barged through the door still carrying Max over his shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late," Loz panted as he walked over to the lab table where Hojo and Illusion were stood and he placed Max on to it. "But this Son of a Bitch is heavy!" Illusion took a closer look at Max, the wounds he had received from the last battle were slowly healing but he had new cuts and bruises where Loz had punched him repeatedly, his face was badly battered and bruised and his lips were dry, cracked and sore.

Illusion glared at Loz, "I thought I told you that I wanted Max UNHARMED!" Illusion yelled the last part loudly as she jabbed a finger into Loz's chest.

Loz merely shrugged in response, "I wanted to get my revenge for him killing me in Kalm!" Loz yelled as he pointed at Max who was still lying unconscious on the lab table.

"When I'm finished with him you can do whatever you want to him!" Illusion continued to snap at Loz, "until then I want him kept alive for as long possible! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!"

"Yes Miss Illusion," Loz answered as he snapped to attention, Illusion grinned at this.

"Good, now get behind Max in case he wakes up!" She ordered, Loz obeyed and he walked behind Max and stood there, his arms were outstretched ready to catch Max if he woke up. Illusion walked back over to Hojo and she watched still grinning evilly as Hojo grabbed one of the needles from the tray next to the table and jabbed it into Max's neck. Max winced and he let out a small yelp of pain as he felt the needle being stabbed into his neck, Hojo pushed the top of the syringe and the needle began to draw blood from it. Hojo repeated the process for another five minutes. "That's enough for now," she told Hojo, he took the fifth needle out of Max's neck, he cleaned the wound with a cloth and he applied a plaster to it Hojo transferred the blood samples to jars before he thoroughly cleaned the needles.

Just as Hojo had finished cleaning up Max moaned as he began to stir, Hojo saw this and he grabbed a needle containing a colourless liquid in it. Max suddenly shot up and Loz quickly grabbed Max by the shoulders, Max struggled feebly but he was still too weak. Hojo quickly jabbed the needle into Max's arm.

"Aaaahhhh…" Max moaned softly, he looked down at the needle as the last of the liquid was injected into him. Max's eyes rolled in the back of his head as he felt his consciousness leave him once more and his movements became slower as he lay back down on the table unconscious, his eyes were wide open, but they were glazed and unfocused. (**A/N, in case you were wondering, no he's not dead, it's just the effects of the drug they had given him. He can still hear everything that's going on but he can't respond, just think of it as being the lights are on but no one's home.**)

Loz released his hold on Max and he stared into Max's wide open eyes, "Can't we just close his eyes?" Loz asked fearfully, "it's creepy the way he's just staring like that."

"Oh stop being such a cry baby!" Illusion yelled at Loz, "it's just an effect of the drug we injected into him. Now take him back to his cell before the drug wears off!" Illusion ordered, Loz picked Max up and dragged him back to his cell. "Oh and Loz!" Illusion called after him, the silver haired man stopped in his tracks. "I will need him again so keep the savage beatings to a minimum!"

"Yes Miss Illusion," Loz said and he continued to drag Max to his cell. When Loz left the room Illusion turned her attention to Hojo again.

"Start injecting the blood into my soldiers!" Illusion snapped at Hojo, "I want them to be as strong as possible, we'll give Max a chance to replenish his blood, then we'll take more blood samples."

"Then I can do with Max as I wish?" Hojo asked as he stared hopefully at Illusion.

Illusion nodded, "once I have enough blood Max will no longer be of any use to me," she answered as she grinned at Hojo, "he's a dangerous enemy, so you can do with him as you wish, but until then, you'll refrain from conducting your twisted experiments on him." Illusion walked out of the room with a sinister grin on her face leaving Hojo to finish cleaning up.

* * *

It had been a whole hour since Zack in bird form had flown over to Midgar to search for Max and he still hadn't returned yet. Pandora became more and more worried every second to the point where she was pacing up and down and despite everyone's words of comfort she couldn't be consoled and the whole room slipped into silence.

"Oh…" Pandora muttered to herself as she continued to pace up and down, "where could he be? He should be back by now."

Aerith was about to respond but she immediately shut her mouth again as the sound of beating wings could be heard. Aerith stood up and she smiled at the group. "Looks like Zack's back!" She stated cheerfully, everyone stood up.

"About time the spiky haired bastard got back!" Cid cursed loudly, much to Angel's annoyance but she didn't say anything as she knew the pilot wouldn't listen to her.

"Well at least I'm not a butt ugly, foul mouthed, chain smoking, bad tempered pilot!" Zack retorted wittily as he flew back in through the open window and changed back into his human form as he landed. "And I don't go mental at everyone because I can't last five minutes without a cigarette!"

"I…oooooooohhhhh…" Cid stammered, he was at a loss for words all he could do was point his finger and glare at Zack. "I'll think of a comeback, just you wait…I'll have a comeback!"

"Yeah…sure…" Zack muttered sarcastically, he couldn't help grinning at Cid's loss for words. "I mean you've been trying to quit for like three years now…either quit smoking or don't! And if you do decide to quit…eventually…then don't go mad at us!"

Pandora ran up to Zack, "did you find him?" She asked quickly changing the subject, Zack shook his head sadly.

"No," He answered, "I flew all over Midgar, I couldn't see him anywhere. However I did find this." Zack closed his eyes and concentrated, his skin glowed a pale green and so did the area around him. A large form appeared surrounded by several smaller forms, eventually the green glow died down and there was a loud clang as all the objects fell to the ground. Pandora took a closer look at the object and she gasped as she realised what it was.

"That's…" She stuttered, hardly daring to say it, but she didn't need to as everyone knew what the object was and as they stared at Max's broken sword they knew that Max was in serious trouble and that it was only a matter time before the people who had taken him to severely injure or even kill him, their time was running out and if they wanted to save Max they had to move fast.

* * *

**Finally chapter 25 is finished, sorry it took so long, I was busy with my assignments, it ain't easy being at uni. Will the others be able to save Max in time, or will he meet a grizzly fate? (After Illusion has got what she wanted from him of course.) Find out in chapter 26 which will be coming soon, and if it takes a while, I apologise in advance, but you can't rush things. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, I do however own characters I created myself. And please feel free to comment, as long as it's constructive criticism, I know I've said this at the end of every chapter, (pretty much) I just want to get the message across, I don't want anyone just saying that it's crap and not giving a reason for it, that's not criticism, that's just being nasty…anyway…enjoy. **


	26. Rescue Mission

**Chapter 26: Rescue Mission**

Everyone was still stood in the main entrance of the WRO Headquarters no one had taken their eyes off Max's sword which was still lying on the floor. "Please don't tell me that's his ancestor's sword…" Nightshade said with a sigh.

"It can be fixed right?" Pandora asked staring hopefully at nightshade.

"It's never been broken before," Nightshade replied darkly, "I don't know if it can be fixed."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Emily spoke up for the first time in awhile, everyone turned round to look at her. "I'm a blacksmith remember."

"But this isn't an ordinary sword Emily," Nightshade reminded her, "are you sure you can fix it?"

Emily nodded, "Of course," she answered enthusiastically, "I can fix it and improve it, it'll take a while though." Emily picked up the sword and the fragments.

"You're welcome to use my workshop for as long as necessary," Reeve told her.

"Thanks Reeve," Emily replied gratefully, "I guess I better start getting to work fixing Max's sword, you guys just focus on rescuing him." Emily took Max's broken sword and she made her way to the workshop.

"Ok," Cloud assumed command again, "we know that Max is in Midgar, we also know that he's not above ground…"

"But the only thing that's underground in Midgar is Deepground's base," Vincent cut in.

"That must be where they've taken Max," Pandora replied.

"It would seem like a logical solution," Isis stated monotonously, "but I estimate that we'll have a 25 chance of getting Max out of there alive."

Pandora, Tifa, Sunny and Angel glared at Isis, "Isis, try to be a little more encouraging!" Tifa admonished.

"That's not her style," Pandora stated.

"Just ignore her," Sunny said reassuringly, "we'll find Max."

"I know," Pandora replied, "And I'm going." Everyone stared at her as she said this. "What?" Pandora demanded as she stared at everyone.

"You're planning on going into Deepground's old base…" Cloud asked Pandora still staring at her in disbelief. "On your own…"

"Well if anyone's planning on coming with me…" Pandora started but she was interrupted.

"Max is my son," Nightshade cut in, "I'm going too."

"I didn't think that you would," Yuffie replied playfully causing Nightshade to scowl at her, he then grinned.

"And let Pandora have all the fun," he said slyly, "I don't think so."

"I'm coming with you," Drogo spoke up and he stood behind Pandora and Nightshade, "I have a feeling that the multi-tailed pain in the ass needs my help as well."

"And I want to test out my Life Stream abilities in battle," Zack stated, "I haven't done anything this exciting in a long time, besides, I feel like me and Max had a real connection."

"Be careful Zack," Aerith pleaded with the ex SOLDIER as she kissed him.

Zack grinned at Aerith, "Hey, careful is my middle name," Aerith glared at him. "Don't worry, when have I ever not been…actually…don't answer that."

"Me and Tifa will go too," Cloud stated, "everyone else stay here, oh…Cid."

"Yeah," Cid answered as he scratched his nicotine patch.

"We're gonna need the Sierra," Cloud replied, "we need you to fly us over Midgar, and we'll jump in from the air."

"I'll go get the Sierra prepared," Cid said proudly as he left the room to get the Sierra ready.

"If we're not back, send a search party," Cloud said to the group as he, Tifa, Pandora, Nightshade, Drogo and Zack followed Cid out of the room.

* * *

Max woke up for what appeared to be the fourth time that day, he let his vision return to him before he sat up and looked around. He found himself back in his cell, he wasn't tied up this time but he still had the rune bracelet on his wrist. How long he was there for he didn't know but he knew that since he had been there Hojo and Illusion had taken more blood from him.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh…" Max moaned softly as he reached his hand up to his neck, he could feel the plaster that Hojo had put on his neck. Max knew that that was where the needles were jabbed into his neck. He looked down at his arm to see multiple puncture wounds, "I've had so many tranquilizers injected into me that I can't tell whether I'm awake or asleep." A hatch in one of the walls opened and a tray was pushed into it, Max staggered slowly to his feet and he walked over to the tray. He was dismayed to see that on the tray was a bowl of what looked like porridge only it was grey, thick and smelt like it had been prepared next to a radiator. Max sniffed the contents of the bowl and he moved his face away in disgust, "yuck…gruel…they seriously don't expect me to eat that do they?" In answer to his question his stomach growled and he realised that he hadn't eaten since he was held captive. He picked the bowl up and he slowly began to eat the gruel, it tasted horrible and Max was almost sick as he ate the grey mass but he knew that if he didn't eat it then he'd get nothing else.

After Max had finished eating he heard the familiar sound of the cell door opening, he looked up but before he even had chance to see who was at the door he was jumped and wrestled to the ground. "You know, we should play more often," a deep voice whispered in Max's ear, "of course I still want to get my revenge for you killing me the other night in Kalm."

"Change the record Loz," Max whispered back shaking his head, he struggled wildly to try and get Loz off him but he didn't have the strength. He looked down and he saw that Loz had one arm round his neck, Max pulled Loz's arm away from his neck, grabbed hold of the arm and bit down on it hard.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Loz yelled in pain and the shock caused Loz to loosen his grip on Max. Max saw his chance and he elbowed Loz in the stomach. "you bastard! You bit me!" Loz reeled his fist back in attempt to punch Max.

"Uhhhhh!" Max cried out in both pain shock as he felt Loz's fist hit him square in the jaw knocking one of his teeth out. Loz then grabbed Max round the throat, dragged him to his feet and pinned him against the wall.

"I'll make you pay for that!" Loz screamed at Max as he prepared his Dual Hound to do some serious damage to Max. "You better I hope I don't catch rabies otherwise I'll be really pissed off!"

"You'd better leave my prized specimen alone Loz!" A shrill voice yelled from behind, Loz turned round to see Hojo stood in the doorway to the cell.

"But he bit me! Loz yelled and he made a crude gesture at Max who he was still holding, "AND I'M NOT CRYING YAZOO!"

Yazoo was stood behind Hojo, he was leaning against the cell door grinning at Loz, "Awwwww…did Lozzy get bitten by the fox…" Yazoo asked in a patronising tone causing Loz to scowl at him. "You know, I heard that rabies are quite prominent in foxes."

Loz released his hold on Max causing him to slide down the wall and slump helplessly to the ground. Max was so weak after being experimented on and beaten up that he couldn't do anything but watch as Loz ran at Yazoo and the two men rolled around on the cell floor punching and kicking each other.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU BASTARD!" Loz screamed at Yazoo as he punched him the face.

"You always were the short tempered one Loz," Yazoo scoffed as he kangaroo kicked Loz off him, Yazoo staggered to his feet and he glared at Loz who after a few seconds also staggered to his feet. "Why do you think you had your ass handed to you in Kalm!"

Loz ran at Yazoo again but both men suddenly collapsed to the floor holding their heads as pain suddenly surged through them and a voice rang in their heads. "ENOUGH!" Illusion yelled in Loz and Yazoo's heads, "IF I WANTED YOU TWO TO FIGHT I WOULD'VE COMMANDED IT! ALL I WANTED YOU TWO INCOMPETENT SHITS TO DO WAS TO ACOOMANY HOJO WHILE HE EXAMINED THE PRISONER SO THAT IF HE DID TRY TO ESCAPE YOU COULD STOP HIM, UNDERSTAND?!"

"Yes Miss Illusion!" Yazoo and Loz yelled in perfect unison, the pain in them subsided and they both staggered to their feet.

"Good," Illusion spoke up again satisfied, "and if you defy my orders again I'll kill you, drag you back from the fifth circle of hell and repeat the process." Not wishing to be killed, brought back to life and killed again they both put their differences behind them, stood back and didn't breathe another word. Hojo grinned and he stepped into the room and he walked towards the semiconscious Max who was still slumped against the wall.

"How are you Max?" Hojo asked in a mocking tone as he looked down at Max through his glasses still grinning evilly. Max's eyes rolled upwards to see Hojo stood there.

"Go…to hell…you sadistic…bastard…" Max uttered barely above a whisper, he lost a ten on one battle, was experimented on and beaten up repeatedly and he wasn't in the mood for Hojo's games. All he wanted to do was sleep so that he could recover from his ordeal, but he had already been put into a drug induced sleep so many times that he wasn't sure if he could sleep even though he wanted to. Not to mention he was already vulnerable enough as it was while he was conscious…almost, if he fell asleep who knows what could happen.

"Good…" Hojo replied evilly, he chose to ignore Max's insult and he proceeded to conduct his checks on Max. Despite being in a semiconscious state Max still resented being treated in this way and he was greatly repulsed by Hojo to the point where he flinched every time he felt Hojo's spidery fingers touching him. "Hmmm…it hasn't even been a day and already your wounds are healing…impressive…" Hojo mused as he poked around in Max's ears mouth and every other orifice he could find. Max almost cried out when Hojo peeled back the plaster on his neck and ran his finger along the puncture wound.

"_Ok…this is seriously creeping me out…" _Dark Max spoke in Max's mind, even though Max couldn't transform into his Dark form Dark Max could still talk to him. But at that moment in time Max didn't really have the strength to talk back.

"Uhhhhh…" He grunted in reply causing Hojo's grin to grow wider.

"It looks like your blood has replenished," Hojo stated dismissively, "we'll give it a couple more hours and we can start the process again, for now…I have someone who wants to meet you, ah ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Max used his remaining strength to lift his head up as he heard Hojo say this, _"Who'd want to visit…oh no!" _Max spoke in his head, he was terrified of what was coming next, so much so that his body was shaking violently. His fears were confirmed when he heard the sound of heels hitting the floor getting louder and louder until…

"Hello Max…" A young Kitsune woman with red fur wearing a purple Chinese style dress entered the cell, she was giving Max a lustful stare, Max flinched when he saw that.

"Sc..Scarlet…" Max stuttered weakly as he tried to back away from the beastly woman, the woman who had ruined everything.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Hojo replied as he started to walk towards the cell door, "but I'll leave you with your play mates." Hojo strode out of the cell and locked the door behind him before he walked down the corridor. Scarlet, Loz and Yazoo were standing over Max grinning as they cracked their knuckles.

"How does it feel to be completely alone and vulnerable?" Scarlet asked still grinning evilly at her cousin. Max was too weak to respond so Scarlet carried on goading him. "Without your friends, you're nothing…" Scarlet, Loz and Yazoo laughed, Max could feel the anger and humiliation bubbling inside him and he wanted very much to snap Scarlet's scrawny neck but he wasn't strong enough at the moment.

"Look at him," It was Yazoo's turn to stick the knife in, "how pathetic he looks, I almost feel sorry for him…almost…" Scarlet, Yazoo and Loz laughed even harder causing Max to get angrier.

"I'll get him back for what he did to my arm!" Loz yelled angrily and he cracked his knuckles as all three of them started to gang up on Max, "Looks like it's time for round…what the hell let's just beat the crap out of him!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Max's screams could be heard throughout the entire base as Scarlet, Yazoo and Loz beat him up again.

* * *

It had been a whole hour since Pandora, Nightshade, Drogo, Zack, Cloud and Tifa had set off to Midgar to rescue Max. It took them a while but they were finally able to find the entrance to the old Deepground base which was below Midgar.

"I hope Max is ok," Pandora muttered trying hard to keep her voice down as they walked through a corridor in Deepground's old base.

"Don't worry," Tifa replied reassuringly, "Max is tough, I'm sure he can handle whatever torture they put him through."

"Yeah…" Drogo cut in, "Or he could be screaming like a sissy girl…" Drogo soon regretted those words when Pandora and Tifa glared at him.

"Sissy girl…" Both women muttered causing Drogo to shrink back in fear at the two women's anger.

"Can we just get this over with?" Nightshade pleaded with them, "this place is giving me the creeps."

"Right," Cloud agreed, "Nightshade's right, the sooner we can navigate through the base the sooner we can get to Max." The group carried on walking until they came up to a point where the path split off into three directions. "Ok…which way do we go?"

"We could take the…" Tifa was about to suggest which path they should go down when she was interrupted by a loud scream.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!" The scream echoed through the entire base, even a person who was hard of hearing could hear it.

"Was that Max?" Zack asked as he looked back and forth at the group members.

"What are they doing to him?" Pandora questioned she could feel the tears welling in her eyes.

"It sounds like it was coming from that direction," Nightshade stated as he pointed down the path that led straight on.

"Let's go," Cloud replied and the group ran down the path.

"Hold on Max, we're coming," Pandora whispered softly to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile Scarlet, Loz and Yazoo had beaten Max senseless and he was now lying on the ground unconscious, his battle wounds had been reopened and his face had been battered and bruised beyond recognition. Loz picked up Max's unconscious form and he was about to punch him again when an alarm sounded.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

"Now what do we do?" Scarlet asked with sigh, Loz and Yazoo merely shrugged in response causing Scarlet to glare at them.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" Illusion's voice rang in their heads, "THERE ARE INTRUDERS IN THE AREA! PUT MAX IN A STASIS TUBE AND GET HIM TO THE SHIP SO I CAN CONTINUE TAKING BLOOD SAMPLES FROM HIM!

"Yes Miss Illusion!" All three of them said in unison.

"LOZ! YOU, YAZOO AND KADAJ FIND THE INTURDERS AND STOP THEM FROM FINDING MAX WHILE WE GET HIM TO THE SHIP!"

"Yes Miss Illusion!" Loz yelled as he and Yazoo ran out of the cell, they met Kadaj at the end of the corridor and they proceeded to meet the group to stop them from getting to Max. Meanwhile, Scarlet with the help of Balthazar got Max out of the cell and she took him to the lab.

* * *

Pandora, Nightshade, Drogo, Cloud, Tifa and Zack continued to walk down the corridor and every step they took they were one step closer to rescuing Max. They were about to walk further into the base when Drogo stopped them.

"What is it?" Tifa asked the hedgehog.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Drogo replied, he held the handles of his katanas ready to bring them out if they ran into any trouble. "We could be walking into a trap."

"Looks like we have a winner!" A voice echoed in the corridor, the group looked around for the source of the voice. They could hear laughter as Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz leapt out of the shadows and formed a triangle round the group.

"You three again!" Nightshade yelled at the three men, "what did you do to my son?!"

"And my husband!" Pandora added angrily as she got into a fighting stance.

"If the girl wants to play, then who are we to stop her?" Kadaj asked in a mocking tone causing Yazoo and Loz to laugh. Pandora growled at them and she was about to charge at them when Cloud stopped her.

"I'll handle them, you take the others and find Max," Cloud told her.

"But…" Pandora was about to respond when Tifa cut in.

"He's right," Tifa agreed with Cloud, "we should go and find Max."

"Count me in too," Zack stated and he stood at Cloud's side.

"Be careful you two," Tifa pleaded with them and she kissed Cloud on the lips before she, Pandora, Nightshade and Drogo ran down the corridor to search for Max.

Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz surrounded Cloud and Zack, Cloud took his sword off his back but he was surprised to see that Zack wasn't holding a weapon. However he also knew that Zack was just as skilled if not more skilled than he was in combat and that he knew what he was doing.

"Two against three," Yazoo scoffed as he Kadaj and Loz paced round the two men, "are you sure you can handle it?"

"I'll take Yazoo and Loz," Zack whispered to Cloud.

"Are you sure you can handle both of them at the same time?" Cloud whispered back, Zack winked and he gave Cloud a sly grin, Cloud knew that look and he knew that Zack had a few tricks up his sleeve. "I'll take on Kadaj," Kadaj took out his katana and he stood opposite Cloud, the two men stood there staring at each other before they charged at each other their swords meeting with a clang as the two began to exchange vicious blows.

Loz charged at Zack at full speed thrusting the Dual Hound out in front of him while Yazoo shot at Zack with his Crimson Nightmare gunblade. A green pool oozed under Zack's feet and he disappeared into it causing Yazoo's bullets to completely miss him and for Loz to run straight passed where Zack was standing a few seconds ago.

"Huh…" Loz uttered as he skidded to a stop, he started looking round for any sign of Zack, he looked over at Yazoo who just shrugged. "He just disappeared…"

Oh…LOZZY!" A voice yelled from out of nowhere, Loz quickly turned round to see Zack stood behind him with his arms folded and giving him a very smug grin.

Loz glared at Zack, "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He yelled at Zack, Zack merely laughed causing Loz to get angrier. He got the Dual Hound ready again and he charged at Zack again.

"You missed," Zack stated in a mocking tone as he dodged out of the way at top speed, in fact he was moving so fast that only a black blur was visible when he moved. Loz charged at him again but Zack just dodged out of the way at the same speed, "over here!" Zack yelled as he tapped Loz on the shoulder.

Again Loz charged at Zack like a raging bull and again Zack easily dodged out of the way. "Missed me, missed me! You better not kiss me!" Zack sang loudly causing Loz to get pissed off.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Loz yelled at the top of his lungs as he charged wildly at Zack not really caring if he hit him or not, but Zack wasn't fazed, in fact he was deeply amused at Loz's feeble attempts to hit him.

"Oooooooohhhh…" Zack replied in a mocking tone after Loz missed him for no one knows how many times. "If you were just .01 of a second earlier you might've caught my afterimage!" Loz continued to charge at Zack in the same fashion still oblivious to the fact that Zack was too fast for him.

Meanwhile Cloud and Kadaj were still trading blows and at that moment it appeared that they were in a stalemate neither warrior could get an effective blow and all that could really be heard were clanging sounds as metal clashed against metal. Cloud and Kadaj were about to trade blows again when they felt a sudden gust of wind around them, they both stopped fighting momentarily and stared to see a black streak followed by a silver streak moving passed them. Cloud continued to stare at the two streaks and he brought his sword up to parry against Kadaj's strike without even looking behind him and he quickly brought his sword down again to parry a low strike.

Loz ran after Zack at full speed intending to knock him out with his Dual Hound. Zack was several meters in front of him running backwards with his arms folded grinning smugly at Loz. "You know!" Zack boasted loudly while Loz glared at him, "for someone in a hurry you sure are slow!" (**A/N, I don't actually own this line unfortunately, it actually comes from an episode of Sonic Underground called Six is a Crowd, I thought I'd use the line because I thought it was funny and it sounds like the kind of thing Zack would say.**)

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…" Loz growled as he increased his speed to catch up with Zack. They both sped round the base, Zack still several meters in front of Loz and he was still running backwards goading Loz at every opportunity.

"Black streak speeds by! Loz is a jackass!" Zack sung at the top of his lungs as he ran causing Loz to aim a punch at him as soon as he got close enough. Zack easily ducked the punch and he increased his speed. "Too dumb for an IQ test! Loz is a jackass!" (**A/N, what Zack was singing was based off the main theme tune to Sonic SATAM, of course I changed the words round to make it sound like an insult to Loz.**)

Loz and Zack continued to run round the base, Loz still trying to hit Zack but failing miserably. They eventually ended up running into a room with a giant Life Stream geyser, despite running backwards, Zack was able to sense the Life Stream geyser and he turned round and skidded to a stop. Loz grinned when he saw Zack just standing there and he reeled the Dual Hound back aiming to strike Zack but Loz sped right passed him and he would've ran straight into the geyser if he hadn't have skidded to a stop just in time. However he was right on the edge of the geyser and he was losing his balance. Zack saw his chance, he crept over to Loz and with the softest tap of his foot on Loz's back he knocked Loz over the edge and he watched as Loz fell.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Loz yelled at the top of his lungs as he fell into the Life Stream Geyser.

Zack stood at the edge of the geyser grinning and he looked at his watch, "three…two…one…" With a swift movement of his hand he caused the geyser to explode and a fountain of the green liquid gushed upwards spewing out a skull which landed at Zack's feet. Zack grinned at the skull, "sure is faithful," he joked and he crushed the skull with his foot. (**A/N, again I don't own this line, it comes from the film Ice Age, I just wanted to use it because it suited the situation.**)

Zack heard the sound of a gun shot and a bullet flew right passed his ear and ricocheted off the far wall. Zack turned round to see Yazoo stood behind him pointing his gunblade at him. "Dude," Zack stated growing annoyed at Yazoo's shit aim. "If you're gonna use that thing at least hit your intended target."

"So you killed Loz," Yazoo scoffed choosing to ignore Zack's insult, "not exactly difficult, I'd like to see you try and kill me."

"Be careful what you wish for," Zack warned as he continued to watch Yazoo, scanning him for any potential weaknesses.

"Hmmm…" Yazoo huffed as opened fire with his gunblade, Zack jumped, ducked, dodged and did every evasive manoeuvre imaginable while singing Can't Touch This. "Stay Still!" Yazoo yelled growing increasingly annoyed at Zack's half assed approach in battle.

"Awww…" Zack replied in a mocking tone, "maybe if you weren't such a bad shot." Yazoo glared at Zack and he opened fire again, a Buster Sword materialised in his hand. He looked at the bullets and grinned, he closed his eyes and concentrated and when he opened them again time had slowed down all around him. As the bullets slowly approached him he twisted his sword hand causing the sword to curve round and deflect the bullets causing them to be sent back to Yazoo. As soon as the bullets were safely away from him, Zack closed his eyes again and concentrated, he opened his eyes and time had returned to normal. Zack looked in Yazoo's direction to see that his body was riddled with bullets, Yazoo stared at Zack for a moment, his eyes were glazed with pain before he collapsed to the floor lifeless. Zack walked towards Yazoo's body as it turned to dust, the only thing that remained was a severed hand.

Zack bent down and he picked the hand up, "here, let me give you hand," he joked as he snapped each individual finger and threw it behind him into the Life Stream geyser. "I wonder how Cloud's doing," the Buster Sword de-materialised and Zack ran out of the room.

Cloud and Kadaj were still fighting as Zack ran into the room, even though he had seen Cloud fighting a million times while he was in the Life Stream he still couldn't help but be impressed at Cloud's skill, he saw Cloud parry Kadaj's attacks with ease, sometimes without even looking at Kadaj, Zack could tell that Cloud had improved over the past four years. Kadaj charged at Cloud holding his katana out to the side of him hoping to perform a finishing strike on him. (**A/N, finishing strike is a quick draw technique which strikes the opponent but the pain and damage doesn't take effect until the sword, (usually a katana) is placed firmly in its sheath. As the blade clicks into place all the wounds open up at once.**) Cloud saw this and he ran at Kadaj dragging his sword behind him, both Cloud and Kadaj struck each other at the same time and they ended up at opposite sides of the room. They both proceeded to sheath their swords, Kadaj placed his sword in the sheath round his belt and Cloud placed his sword on his back. However Cloud got there first, the clicking of the sword going into place on his back echoed in the room.

"Uhhhhhhhh…" Kadaj cried out in pain as he looked down to see all his wounds open up at once, he took one look at Cloud who was grinning at him and he collapsed to the floor. Cloud walked up to Kadaj's body as it turned to dust to reveal half a bone.

"It's a good thing Drogo taught me some quick draw techniques," Cloud stated as Zack walked up to him, "otherwise Kadaj would've killed me."

"They'll be back," Zack replied, "we should catch up with the others."

Cloud nodded, "you're right," he agreed, "we should help them find Max." The two men ran down the corridor to catch up with their friends.

* * *

Meanwhile Pandora, Tifa, Nightshade and Drogo had gone deeper into the base searching for any clue to Max's whereabouts. They didn't hear any other sounds for half an hour now and it made Pandora even more worried.

"_What if he's hurt…unconscious or worse…" _Pandora thought to herself as she feared the worst, she didn't want to think of Max as dead. She had almost lost him once before and she didn't want to lose him again. The group carried on walking in silence until they came to what looked like an underground warehouse, the group hid as they saw countless people, both humans and Dark Kitsunes working. They were moving crates and boxes and placing them in a large ship at the end of the room.

"I wonder where they're going," Drogo whispered as everyone continued to watch what was happening in the room.

"Who knows," Tifa whispered back, "but I bet ya it has something to do with Max."

"You think he's on that ship?" Pandora enquired in a hushed tone.

"It's a possibility," Drogo answered barely above a whisper, "they could be moving him to another location, question is, where?"

"There's only one way to find out," Pandora replied, and before anyone could stop her she crept out of her hiding place and into the warehouse itself being careful to remain in the shadows.

"Pandora," Nightshade hissed at her, being careful not to draw attention to himself. "Where are you going?" Pandora ignored him and when the coast was clear she crept further into the warehouse just as Cloud and Zack came running up to them.

"Hey guys," Cloud said as everyone turned to face him and Zack, "where's Pandora?"

"She's over there," Tifa replied and she point to where Pandora, the group looked over just in time to see Pandora lift up the lid of one of the crates and climb into it.

"What does she think she's doing?" Zack asked looking from Tifa, to Drogo, to Nightshade trying to find out what was going on.

"We think Max might be on that ship," Drogo answered and he pointed to the ship, "and she's gonna go on to said ship to find him."

Nightshade, Drogo, Cloud, Zack and Tifa watched as two Dark Kitsunes walked over to the crate that Pandora was in and picked it up.

"Man this thing is heavy," one of the Dark Kitsunes complained as they carried the crate to the ship.

"Quit complaining, there's only one crate left after this one then we can go on our break," his partner replied as they placed the crate into the cargo bay of the ship. Once the last crate was loaded on to the ship Pandora could feel the ship shake as a platform underneath it rose up causing the ship to be in a diagonal position, a hole opened up in the ceiling and the ship blasted off into the air.

* * *

After ten minutes of flying and making sure that the coast was clear Pandora pushed the lid off the crate and she climbed out of it. She dusted herself off shaking off any apples that had managed to get into her dress, she walked over to the door and she pushed the button, the door opened, she stepped out of the room and crept down the corridor but she didn't get very far when she was jumped. She managed to wiggle out of her attacker's grip but she was soon jumped again and the first attacker joined the fray and they both pulled Pandora's hands behind her back and held them there. Pandora looked from side to side to Sephiroth and Weis holding her.

"So you must be the "charming" wife that Max was prattling on about in his sleep," Weis replied in a mocking tone, Pandora struggled frantically but Weis and Sephiroth were too strong for her.

"What's going on here?!" A female voice demanded, Pandora looked around for the source of the voice and she saw a female Kitsune with purple fur, long black hair, yellow eyes and wearing a black robe staring at her.

"So you're Pandora," Illusion questioned as she stared intently at Pandora. "I've heard so much about you, in fact it was the only thing that made sense in Max's ramblings."

"What did you do to Max?!" Pandora demanded as she continued to struggle against Sephiroth and Weis.

"Oh he's alive, for now," Illusion answered as she grinned evilly, she looked Pandora up and down, "come to think of it, you're nothing special."

Pandora glared at Illusion, "Excuse me!" She yelled which earned her a hard dig in the back.

"Take her to the brig," Illusion ordered as she turned her back on Pandora, "she can have a front row seat in Max's execution," Illusion walked off and Sephiroth and Weis dragged Pandora to the brig and threw her into a cell. They walked off leaving her alone.

Pandora walked up to the bars and she grabbed hold of them, _"Max," _she thought to herself, trying to stop herself from crying. _"Please be ok."_

* * *

Meanwhile, in another section of the ship Scarlet was watching Max closely as he slept in the stasis tube. She was still watching him when Balthazar entered the room. "What are you doing?" He asked as he stood next to his daughter.

"I'm watching Max to make sure he doesn't escape," Scarlet replied, not taking her eyes off Max.

"Why are you watching him?" Balthazar asked curiously as he looked at his nephew in the tube.

"He's escaped before," Scarlet answered, "but I'm not sure how he did it."

"Don't worry," Balthazar said reassuringly, "he's locked up securely in that tube, he can't get out."

"I guess you're right," Scarlet agreed, and deciding that Max couldn't escape from the tube Scarlet and Balthazar turned round and walked out of the room leaving Max alone.

For a while all was quiet in the room and Max was sleeping soundly in the stasis tube, but a few seconds later his eye lids began to flicker and his eyes fluttered open with the sound of a paper fan to reveal blood red pupiless eyes and Max's mouth curled up into a sly grin.

* * *

**Finally, chapter 26 is finished, sorry it took so long but I was busy with other things, not to mention that I was stuck on ideas for a while, but I managed to finish the chapter. Will Max and Pandora be able to get out of this alive? Will the others be able to save them? Or will their fate finally be sealed? Find out in chapter 27, which could be coming soon but if it take a while to type then I apologise in advance. I may take a break from writing it for a while but I'm not too sure. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, however I do own characters that I have created myself. I also don't own Sonic Underground, Sonic SATAM or Ice Age for which I have used for parodies in this chapter. Sonic Underground and Sonic SATAM belonged to DIC, and Ice Age belongs to 20****th**** Century Fox.**


	27. Max and Pandora's Escape

**Chapter 27: Max and Pandora's Escape**

Max slowly looked around the room to make sure that no one was around, he then pulled his fist back and after five seconds he launched his fist at the side of the stasis tube completely shattering the glass where he had struck. The liquid within the tube drained out of it and as soon as the tube was completely emptied Max slowly stepped out of it grinning evilly and cracking his knuckles.

"At times like this, I'm thankful for the experiments the Dark Kitsunes conducted," Dark Max spoke quietly, (**A/N, even though Max is currently wearing a rune bracelet which blocks all of his powers and transformations, it doesn't stop Dark Max from taking over his mind.**) he took another look at the now broken tube behind him, "someone's bound to have heard that, I better get out of here." Dark Max bolted out of the room and he was in a long corridor. "Ok, first things first," Dark Max said as he crept down the corridor and entered a room filled with large crates, "this must be the cargo room," he stated as he looked around the room, "I need to think of plan," Dark Max said to himself. _"Max is usually the planner," _Dark Max thought to himself, _"I'm just the kill first ask questions later guy…Oh Shit!" _Dark Max panicked for a second before he quickly lifted the lid of the nearest crate and climbed into, he was surprised to see that the crate was filled with apples and there was a hand sized hole in the side of it. Dark Max looked through the hole and he could see two of Illusion's guards, one male and one female enter the room and walk towards the crate Dark Max was in.

"Tell me again why we're doing this job?" The female asked her slightly older partner.

"Because," the male guard answered her, "this job actually pays well and I'm sure it beats being in the front line for the Dark Kitsune army."

"I guess you're right," the female guard replied, "I used to be in the front line, as punishment for speaking my mind, then I got transferred to this world because Illusion said that I'd come in useful to her."

"Looks like you got a lucky break then," the male guard spoke up, "which is more than what can be said for the prisoner."

"How much more blood does Illusion need to extract from him?" The female guard asked.

"Let's see now," the male thought out loud, "she's collected enough blood from him to put into 200 soldiers, so ten to twenty more jabs with Hojo's needle and she'll have all the blood she needs and it'll be good by to the Kitsune Prince."

"Do tell," the female guard pleaded as curiosity got the better of her.

"Well," the male guard explained not knowing that Dark Max was listening to them. "Illusion is only keeping him alive while he's useful to her, once he's served his purpose, Max has a date with the guillotine." Dark Max almost cried out when he heard that, but he managed to control himself. "Of course, she'll torture him for five days straight, cut off all five of his tails and then she'll cut off his head!" The male guard continued to tell his partner in graphic detail as he ran a finger across his neck to symbolise someone being beheaded. Dark Max instinctively ran his hand across his neck as he was hearing this.

"I heard that his wife is being held captive," the female guard stated as though it was just normal everyday gossip.

"You heard right," the male guard responded, "she'll have a front row seat to Max's torture and execution."

"_Pandora's been captured…" _Dark Max thought fearfully to himself, _"damn! This just complicates things, I have to get out of here, rescue Pandora and wake Max up."_

"I'm feeling hungry," the female guard stated as she put her hand through the hole, Dark Max crawled back as he saw the hand come through and feel round the box for an apple. Dark Max picked one up and he held it towards the hole, the hand grabbed it and pulled out the apple, the woman then bit into it. "Mmmmm…" She mumbled in a satisfied tone as she ate the apple, "this tastes good."

"We better get back to work," the male guard stated as he looked at his watch, the woman had finished the apple and she threw the apple core in the bin as the two guards walked out of the room. Dark Max grinned as he picked up an apple and ate it, once he was sure the coast was clear he opened the lid of the box threw the apple core in the bin and crept out of the room.

* * *

Meanwhile in the brig Pandora was pacing round in her cell, _"I can't believe it!" _Pandora thought sadly to herself, _"I was this close to rescuing Max and this happens!" _She stopped pacing and she walked over to the only bed in the cell and she sat on the edge of it sighing to herself. Maybe I should just give up…" She whispered quietly to herself.

"And miss out on all the fun!" A dark sounding voice joked.

"Huh?" Pandora's ears pricked up as she heard the voice, "Wait a minute," she stated as she stood up and walked over to the bars of her cell, "I know that voice." Dark Max dropped down from the ceiling and he grinned at Pandora. "Dark!" She exclaimed, "how did you get out?"

"I'm Max's primitive side, remember?" Dark Max began to explain, "even when Max is sleeping I'm still awake, which in this case is actually a good thing."

"So, how come you're not fully transformed?" Pandora questioned as she stared intently at Dark Max.

"Because those bastards put a rune bracelet on me while I was unconscious," Dark Max answered bitterly as he lifted his arm up to reveal the rune bracelet on his wrist. "Can you get this thing off me so I can transform fully?" Dark Max pleaded as he moved his arm closer to the bars of the cell.

"Oh sure," Pandora replied as she brought her foot up and slammed it down heel first on the rune bracelet causing it to snap in half and fall off Dark Max's wrist. As soon as the rune bracelet fell to the ground a dark aura surrounded Dark Max, his fur changed from sea-green to purple, his hair became jet black with blue streaks and claws sprang out from the tips of his fingers. Dark Max looked at himself and he grinned.

"That's better," he stated pleased that he was able to fully transform again, he looked at the bars of the cell and back at Pandora, "I'd stand back if I were you," Pandora obeyed and she stepped back from the bars of the cell, Dark Max grabbed hold of the bars on the door of the cell and with all his might he pulled the door off its hinges.

An alarm sounded and soldiers and Dark Kitsunes ran into the brig pointing their weapons at Dark Max and Pandora. "Hold it right there!" One of the soldiers yelled, "drop whatever it is you're holding and put your hands on your head!"

Dark Max looked at the cell door he was holding in his hands, he then looked at the soldiers and grinned at them. "Ok," he said slyly and he threw the cell door at them, pinning them against the wall. Pandora ran out of the cell and she stood next to Dark Max, "come on," Dark Max said quickly as he grabbed hold of Pandora's hand, "let's get out of here," he and Pandora ran out of the room leaving the soldiers to struggle.

* * *

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" Drogo yelled at Cid as the Sierra was struggling to catch up with the airship in front of them.

"Just shut up!" Cid snapped not taking his eyes off the Sierra's controls, "the Sierra's going as fast as she can go so quit your whining!"

While Cid and Drogo were arguing Cloud was stood at the window looking out sadly, he didn't notice Tifa walking up behind him. "Something on your mind?" She asked, Cloud turned round to face her.

"Tifa…" He said surprised that she was standing behind him, "I didn't see you there."

"Is there something wrong?" Tifa asked again and Cloud sighed.

"What was Pandora thinking?" He asked Tifa, "how could she do something so reckless?"

"Because she loves Max," Tifa answered as she put her hand on Cloud's shoulder, "love makes you do crazy things sometimes."

Cloud smiled ruefully, "yeah," he agreed, "we know that to be true, Tifa…"

"Yes?" Tifa asked as she stared into Cloud's bright blue eyes.

"You know that day, before we were going to fight Sephiroth in the Northern Cave," Cloud started to answer, "how close we were."

Tifa nodded, "I never forgot it," she replied with a smile, "it was the first time you were able to truly open up to me."

"Remember when we said that we'd stay together no matter…" Cloud started to ask put Tifa placed a finger on Cloud's lips.

"And I still stand by that Cloud," Tifa replied reassuringly, Cloud reached his hands up and he stroked the sides of Tifa's face. "There's not a second that goes by when I'm not thinking about you."

"You're so beautiful Tifa Lockhart," Cloud complimented her, "and you speak your mind, but you're also kind and caring and that's what I've always liked about you." Tifa smiled, "when all this is over, we can be a real family, you, me, Marlene and Denzel." Tifa and Cloud stared at each other for a few seconds before they kissed. "I'm never gonna let you go Tifa," Cloud promised between kisses.

"I'm never gonna let you go Cloud," Tifa also promised in between kisses, for what seemed like forever Cloud and Tifa were locked in an embrace.

"Hey lovebirds!" Zack yelled causing Cloud and Tifa to quickly break apart, "as much as I love to see you two kissing each other's brains out, we've got a serious problem." Zack pointed out of the window and everyone looked in the direction he was pointing in to see several missiles flying towards them.

"Shit!" Cloud exclaimed as he saw the missiles, "Cid, evasive manoeuvres!"

"Alright, alright!" Cid yelled at Cloud, "don't get your panties in a twist!" He pushed a button and the propellers were replaced by thrusters engines and the Sierra became more streamlined. "Hang on!" Cid warned the group as he took control of the ship again, "This is gonna be a bumpy ride, so don't piss yourselves!"

Everyone aboard the Sierra screamed as Cid made the ship perform several evasive manoeuvres. The missiles flew passed as Cid made the Sierra do a barrel roll. "They're heading back this way!" Zack yelled in a panic as the missiles did a u turn and sped back towards them. "Move faster Cid!"

"I'm moving as fast as I bloody can!" Cid snapped at the ex SOLDIER, as he pulled back on the levers causing the Sierra to fly upwards.

"Not fast enough!" Zack screamed at the pilot as the missiles started gaining on the Sierra. Cid pushed forwards on the levers causing the Sierra to dive, however the missiles were still on the Sierra's tail.

"They look like homing missiles," Nightshade stated calmly while everyone else was panicking and holding on for dear life.

"Yeah, nice Nightshade!" Drogo yelled sarcastically as he glared at the Kitsune, "We've got homing missiles on our ass and all you can say is…" he mimics Nightshades voice, "they look like homing missiles," he talks normally again, "how can you be so bloody calm!?"

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs causing everyone to stare at him, "I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE HERE!" Cid pulled back on the levers slightly and the Sierra levelled off. They could hear the sound of a missile speeding passed them but they could hear an explosion followed by an alarm going off in the Sierra. "SHIT!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs as the Sierra began to lose altitude. "WE'RE LOSING ALTITUDE! I'M MOVING IN FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING SO HANG ON TIGHT!" Cid fought for control so that he could land the Sierra safely, Cloud was holding on tightly to Tifa when Zack came up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Cloud…" Zack said sincerely, "in case we don't get out of this alive I just wanted you to know that…I'm sorry I planted a stink bomb in your locker at the training academy…"

Cloud turned round to glare at Zack, "that was you?!" He demanded as Zack took several paces away from him.

"It was April fools day," Zack defended himself, "it was just a bit of harmless fun…"

Cloud smiled ruefully, "I know, and I'm sorry for leaving you to die and thinking that I was you."

"Nah don't worry about it," Zack brushed Cloud's apology to the side, "like I said, I thought it was hilarious."

"And Tifa, I'm sorry I was always so cold and distant towards you," Cloud apologised to Tifa, Tifa smiled and kissed him.

"It's ok Cloud," Tifa accepted his apology, "I'm sorry I yelled at you when the kids went missing."

"It's ok Tifa," Cloud and Tifa held on even tighter to each other.

"Hey Nightshade," Drogo said to Nightshade as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, "while we're on the subject of confessions…"

"What is it Drogo?" Nightshade asked, an air of impatience in his voice.

"I'm sorry I spiked your drink with alcohol…" Drogo said quickly hoping that Nightshade wouldn't catch it.

"You did WHAT?!" Nightshade yelled at Drogo as he grabbed Drogo by the neck.

"I thought you could do with livening up…" Drogo admitted, "how was I supposed to know it would knock you out for three whole days..." Nightshade tightened his grip on Drogo's throat, "Nightshade…can't breathe…"

Nightshade released his hold on Drogo, "I guess my biggest regret is that I was never around to see Max growing up," Nightshade stated sadly.

"But Max already forgave you for that though," Tifa reminded him.

"I know," Nightshade replied, "but it's a regret that I'll always have."

"What do you think this is a confession box?" Cid asked sarcastically as the Sierra continued to lose altitude.

"Hey Cid?" Zack asked the pilot, "Don't you have any regrets?"

"None what so ever," Cid answered as he took out a cigarette, lit it and put it in his mouth.

"Cid, stop smoking!" Tifa admonished him.

"I'M TENSE!" Cid yelled at Tifa, "I HAVEN'T HAD A SMOKE FOR A WHILE!"

"I thought you were supposed to be giving up!" Tifa continued to lecture Cid.

"DON'T LECTURE ME WOMAN!" Cid yelled again growing increasingly irritated. "IF I WANTED A LECTURE I'D HAVE STAYED AT HOME WITH SHERRA!"

"Looks like we're getting closer to the ground," Drogo cut in causing Cid and Tifa to stop arguing.

"Hang on!" Cid yelled as he pulled on the levers causing the Sierra to finally level off again and scrape along the ground as it landed with a thud. After covering miles of Astroturf the Sierra finally screeched to a halt. "Anyone who's not dead say I!" Cid shouted as he saw everyone piled on top of each other in one corner of the room.

"We're all here Cid," Cloud spoke up as everyone disentangled themselves and they got off the Sierra to evaluate the damage.

"Ok, one of the thrusters is gone," Cid stated as he continued to look at the damage, "the Sierra will be out of commission for a while."

"Of course this never would've happened if you let Max upgrade the ship," Drogo muttered under his breath.

"Well we're still alive aren't we?!" Tifa asked as she gave Drogo an evil stare, "that's the main thing."

"But we didn't even rescue Max and Pandora," Nightshade stated sadly.

"Look," Cloud suggested, "we've landed on the runway outside WRO, we should head back to base, get the Sierra repaired and think of another plan."

Cid took his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number, "It's me captain Highwind," he spoke into the phone, "the Sierra took some damage, homing missile…no, no, everyone's ok, I need you to send some people to get the Sierra back to the hangar and get it fixed, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S SHORT NOTICE JUST GET YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!" Cid hung up on the phone, "they're sending some people to pick up the Sierra," he told the group.

"Let's head back to base," Cloud said and the group made their way back to WRO Headquarters.

* * *

"I think the coast is clear," Pandora stated as she looked round the corner but she didn't see anyone coming.

"Good," Dark Max replied and he started to run down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" Pandora called out to him as quietly as she could, "the exit is that way," she stated as she pointed down another corridor.

"I need to find something to wake Max," Dark Max replied, "and last I checked the med bay was in this direction."

"You've done this before haven't you?" Pandora asked him, Dark Max grinned and nodded.

"When I was captured by Scarlet," he answered, "of course that time I was on my own, I didn't have Max's charming wife with me."

"Am I really that charming?" Pandora asked him.

"Yeah," Dark Max stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Max never stops talking about you and might I add the other night was just divine."

"Can we talk about this another time?" Pandora asked as she looked down the corridor to see if anyone was coming.

"Let's go," Dark Max said as he grabbed Pandora's hand and they ran down the corridor. Dark Max and Pandora had to hide behind several corners as guards walked passed them, fortunately the guards didn't notice them. But Dark Max and Pandora knew that Balthazar, Scarlet, Sephiroth and the others were also on the ship and Dark Max didn't really want to fight them at the minute. Eventually they reached the med bay. Pandora watched as Dark Max began searching the cupboards and he threw things all over the place. "No, no…nu ah…aaahh…here were go!" He stated as he pulled out a bottle of colourless liquid, "this is the stuff," Dark Max grabbed a clean syringe and he drained some of the liquid into it. He then sat down on the floor rolled up his trouser leg and pointed the syringe at it. "Ok, this is it buddy, you better thank me for this," Dark Max said in a serious tone as he stabbed the needle into his leg.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Dark Max cried out in pain, Pandora ran up to him and knelt down beside him.

"Dark…or Max…which ever one I'm talking to now," Pandora said in a panicked tone, "are you ok?" For a while Dark Max didn't answer, his eyes rolled in his head before they closed. Pandora grabbed hold of his shoulders to support him. He slumped further down as his body slowly changed back to normal.

"Uhhhhh…" Max moaned as he began to stir.

"Max…" Pandora whispered in his ear as she gently shook him to bring him to his senses.

Max's eyes fluttered open and this time they were blue, he looked up and he saw Pandora, "Pandora…" Max whispered softly, he sound disorientated and he looked around him, his eyes were unfocused. "Where are we?"

"We're on Illusion's airship," Pandora answered him, "they brought you on here, I followed and I was captured, I'm not sure what happened to the others though."

"The others…" Max asked, Pandora explained to him what had happened, "so you guys came to rescue me, but they didn't follow you on the ship?" Pandora shook her head, "so I was in stasis and my Dark side helped me out," Max continued to quiz Pandora, "thanks Dark," Max replied gratefully to his dark side.

"You're welcome," Dark Max replied, "but we should really think about getting out of here."

"Right," Max agreed, he staggered slowly to his feet, he stumbled and would've fallen if Pandora hadn't have caught him.

"Take it easy," Pandora advised him, "don't take it too fast ok."

Max nodded, "ok," he agreed, "I think I can stand on my own now." Pandora released her hold on him slightly but she still had hold of his hand.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Pandora said as she led Max out of the med bay and down the corridor. Eventually they reached the airlock, "this is it," Pandora stated, "our way out." Pandora struggled to get the airlock open, neither she nor Max noticed anyone sneak up behind them.

"Leaving so soon," a soft yet dark female voice spoke behind them, Max and Pandora spun round to see Illusion and her goons standing behind them.

"Illusion…" Max whispered as he stared at the woman.

"I must admit that I greatly underestimated your abilities young prince," Illusion stated as she continued to stare Max down, "a mistake I won't be making again, seize them!" Rosso and Azul stepped forwards and they grabbed hold of Max and Pandora, their prisoners struggled wildly to try and escape. "Take Max to the high security cell, I'll deal with him later!" Illusion ordered, "and as for you," Illusion said threateningly as she glared at Pandora, "you're not needed, throw her off the ship!"

"No!" Max shouted at the top of his lungs and he struggled even more frantically, Max could do nothing but watch as Illusion pushed the airlock open button and Rosso pushed Pandora out of it, she banged her wing hard on the side of the airlock as she fell out of it.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Pandora screamed as she fell out of the ship.

"PANDORA!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he saw Pandora fall out of the ship and with a sudden burst of strength he threw Azul off him. Before Illusion or anyone else could react Max ran for the airlock and dived out of it. Max closed his eyes as he fell and he concentrated all his energy and time seemed to slow down around him. He opened his eyes which were now irisless and pupiless, the whites glowed brightly. Max's fur became white and tinged with blue, his hair became blue with silver streaks and became even more unruly than usual. Two large angel wings arched out of his back and his body seemed to be radiating a bright light. He straightened his body out so that he fell faster, when he was a few feet below Pandora he stretched his wings out and flapped them slowing his descent. He then stretched his arms out and caught Pandora as she fell. "You have a real habit of getting into trouble," he whispered to Pandora as he slowly flew down to the ground.

"So do you," Pandora said back causing Max to laugh.

"I guess that's what drew us to each other," Max responded as Pandora wrapped her arms round Max's neck.

"Why is it that whenever I was in trouble and I needed a knight in shinning armour, I always got you?" Pandora asked a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Maybe I am a knight in shinning armour," Max answered as they got nearer to the ground they saw that they were completely surrounded by canyons, they saw an observatory on top of the tallest canyon. "Hey, isn't that Cosmo Canyon?" Max asked as he and Pandora looked down.

"Yeah," Pandora answered, "I didn't realise how far we'd come, try to land there."

"Ok," Max replied and he changed his direction towards Cosmo Canyon, five minutes later Max landed gracefully at the entrance of Cosmo Canyon and Pandora slid out of his arms and stood on the ground.

"It feels good to be on solid ground again," Pandora stated as she looked around her, "we didn't get much chance to explore the last time we were here, not to mention we need to get in contact with the others, right Max…Max?" Pandora turned round to see Max lying on the ground unconscious, he had returned to normal and he was breathing deeply. Pandora knelt down beside him, "I guess being captured and breaking out must've taken it's toll on you," she observed as she picked him up and swung him over his shoulder, he felt surprisingly light, "what did they do to you?" Pandora asked half to herself as she carried Max to the inn, when she entered the lobby she walked over to the front desk where a man was stood.

"May I help you?" He asked politely as he saw Pandora approach the desk.

"Yeah," Pandora answered, "my husband passed out not too long ago and we need a place to stay for a while."

"And how long do you plan to be staying for?" The man asked as he looked through a book.

"I'm not too sure," Pandora replied truthfully, "just until he recovers and we'll be on our way."

"Well it's 20gil per night," the man informed her.

"Sounds fair," Pandora replied as she paid the man 20gil.

"Thank you," the man stated gratefully, "your room is up the stairs and the third one on the left," the man said as he handed Pandora the room key.

"Thanks," Pandora responded and she walked up the stairs, as soon as she entered the room, she pulled back the bed covers, eased Max on to the bed and took his boots off before pulling the covers back over him. Pandora watched for a moment before she moved away from the bed.

"Ok," she said to herself as she formulated a plan, "I need to call the others and tell them where we are." She reached into her pocket to get her phone but she couldn't find it," hmmm… odd, I could've sworn I put it in my pocket, maybe I should check the other pocket," Pandora checked her other pocket but it wasn't there. "Damn it!" Pandora yelled but she immediately regretted it when she thought she had woken Max up. She turned round but fortunately Max was still asleep, "wait, now I remember, I was in such a hurry to rescue Max that I forgot to pick it up, I'll have to use another phone." Pandora walked back over to Max, she sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked his hair. "I just need to leave the room for a little while," she whispered softly in his ear, "don't worry, I'll be back soon," she quickly kissed him on the lips and she walked out of the room.

She entered the lobby and she walked to the front desk, the same man who had served her before came to the desk. "Have you found the room alright?" He asked.

Pandora nodded, "yeah," she answered, "do you have any phone books for the Eastern Continent?" She asked.

"I'll just have a look," the man answered and he walked to the shelf at the back and started looking through all the books, "what region do you want?" He asked.

"Region?" Pandora questioned giving the man a confused look.

"Do you want a book for Edge, Kalm, Fort Condor, Junon…" The man asked as he gave Pandora an understanding smile.

"Oh," Pandora stated now that she understood what he meant, _"hmmm…WRO is near Kalm right?" _She thought to herself, "I'll have a book for Kalm please," Pandora said to the man.

The man found the book and he returned to the desk, "there you are," he said as he gave her the book, "a phone book for the Kalm area."

"Thanks," Pandora replied gratefully as she began to search through the book until she found the number for WRO, "aaahhhh, there's the number," she saw the phone on the desk, "can I use your phone please?" She asked.

"Is it a local call?" The man questioned as he gave Pandora a sceptical stare.

"Yes…" Pandora replied, the man nodded and walked into the room at the back. Pandora picked up the phone and she dialled a number while looking

at the phone book for a reference, eventually the phone started ringing.

"You have reached the WRO helpdesk service," an electronic voice spoke down the phone, "If you would like to report a strange incident press 1, if you have seen sightings of Sephiroth press 2, if you're a hero in need press 3…" Pandora quickly pressed number 3, "please hold," the electronic voice said and an annoying tune started playing, Pandora patiently waited and an hour later the electronic voice spoke again.

"You have selected a hero in need, if monsters are attacking you, press 1, if you're trapped and need assistance, press 2, if you're stuck in the Northern Cave, press 3, if you're calling on behalf of another hero, press 4." Pandora quickly pressed 4, "please hold," a different annoying tune started playing.

"Grrrrrr…" Pandora growled irritably but still she waited and after another hour the tune stopped.

"If you need reinforcements, press 1, if you need the special ops, press 2, if you're currently stranded and need a pick up, press 3." Pandora quickly pressed 3, "please hold," the Chocobo theme tune started playing.

"Oh for the love of…" Pandora started cursing but she was aware that everyone in the lobby was staring at her so she decided to keep her cool. Another hour went by before the electronic voice started speaking again.

"If you're in Midgar, press 1, if you're in Edge, press 2, if you're in Kalm press 3…" The electronic voice continued to list off all the locations until it said Cosmo Canyon and Pandora pressed the corresponding button, "please hold," a remix of the Chocobo theme tune started playing.

"I'm so gonna kill Rufus when I get back…" Pandora muttered under her breath as she listened to the annoying tune. By the time an hour had gone by Pandora was fast asleep, her head was resting on the desk and the phone was pressed up against her ear, eventually a human voice spoke which caused Pandora to wake up with a start.

"Hello?" A voice that Pandora recognised spoke into the phone, "Rufus Shinra speaking."

"RUFUS YOU BASTARD!" Pandora found herself yelling down the phone, unfortunately for Pandora she didn't know that everyone else in the WRO meeting room could hear her as well but at that moment in time she was too pissed off to care. "FOUR BLOODY HOURS I'VE BEEN WAITING! IT'S A GOOD THING WE WEREN'T BEING ATTACKED OTHERWISE WE WOULD'VE BEEN DEAD BY NOW!"

"Pandora," Rufus spoke calmly into the phone, "try to calm down…

"CALM DOWN!" Pandora yelled down the phone, "DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN YOU SMARMY GIT!" Pandora launched into every swear word in the book causing everyone in the meeting room to stare at the phone in shock.

"And I thought I was bad," Cid commented half shocked and half impressed at Pandora's swearing frenzy.

"Last time I saw Pandora pissed off she shoved a fireball up my ass," Drogo remarked.

"WAS THAT CID AND DROGO I COULD HEAR ON THE OTHER END?!" Pandora continued to yell.

"Yes," Rufus answered, "you are on loud speaker so I'd calm down if I were you."

"Oh…" Pandora suddenly calmed down, "Look, me and Max are in Cosmo Canyon and we need a lift."

"I see," Rufus responded, "why didn't you call my private line?" Rufus asked her.

"Private line…" Pandora repeated the last two words that Rufus had said.

"Yes," Rufus answered, "it would've sent you directly to my phone, it was on the list of options in the helpdesk message."

"I didn't hear it," Pandora responded defensively.

"It was in the first list of options," Rufus informed her, "what did you press exactly?"

"Number 3," Pandora answered him, "you mean to tell me that I went through all that for nothing!"

"Yes," Rufus said again, "and please stop shouting you're giving me a headache, as for the lift you need it'll take a while."

"Why?" Pandora demanded.

"The Sierra took on some damage when the rest of your group tried to follow the ship you and Max were on."

"What kind of damage?" Pandora continued to demand.

"One of the thrusters was blown off," Rufus answered, "and the other sustained some damage, the Sierra will be out of commission for a while."

"Of course none of this would've happened if someone had have accepted Max's offer to upgrade the Sierra, Cid!" Tifa stated glaring at Cid as she did so.

"Hey! I don't like people touching my ship alright!" Cid yelled in defence.

"Will you two just shut up," Vincent suddenly spoke up causing them both to fall silent. "How's Max?" Vincent asked Pandora down the phone.

"He's currently sleeping," Pandora answered, "I dread to think what they were doing to him…"

"Just hang in there Pandora," Nightshade reassured Pandora down the phone, "we'll get there as soon as we can."

"Ok," Pandora stated she had calmed down now that she knew her and Max were going to be rescued. "I'll see you guys soon," she hung up on the phone and feeling tired and frustrated she walked slowly up the stairs and back to her room. She locked the door and walked over to the bed where she kicked her boots off and crawled into the covers. She snuggled up to Max until her head was resting on his chest, she took one more look at him.

"Hang on Max," she whispered reassuringly in his ear, "our friends will be on their way and you'll be feeling better again, until then, get some rest." She kissed Max three times, one on each cheek and the other on his mouth before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**Chapter 27 is complete, sorry it took so long but you know I was busy with other things. Chapter 28 will be coming soon, when I can find a spare moment to write it. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, they belong to Square Enix, I do however own characters that I've created myself.**


	28. The Next Step

**Chapter 28: The Next Step**

As soon as Pandora's head hit the pillow she could hear the Chocobo theme tune in her head over and over again as if the tune had been set to constant replay. _"Strange…" _Pandora muttered to herself, _"that tune must've been practically drilled in my head." _She woke up to find herself in a large filed with a fence in the centre of it.

"_This is definitely weird," _Pandora uttered as she walked towards the fence, _"normally I'm dreaming about Max," _Pandora jumped with a start as she saw a yellow coloured bird jump over the fence. Pandora soon got over the shock though as she realised that it was a Chocobo, _"1…" _she found herself instinctively counting as more Chocobos jumped over the fence. _"50…51…52…what is this?" _Pandora suddenly stopped as she realised how stupid counting Chocobos was. _"I've heard of counting sheep, but this is ridiculous...why am I even having this dream?" _

The Chocobo theme tune suddenly stopped and was replaced with the chirruping of birds. Pandora groaned as she began to stir, she woke up with a start to find herself back in her room in Cosmo Canyon, the morning sun poured into the window and Pandora had to shield her eyes. "Uhhhh…" She moaned again as she stretched, "that had to be the most bizarre dream I've ever had." She looked over at Max to see that he was still asleep, "poor guy," she whispered softly as she stroked Max's forehead and brushed his forelocks to the side. "What did they do to you?" She asked half to herself as she didn't expect Max to answer her.

"_You mean apart from experimenting on me?" _A voice suddenly asked in her head.

"_Max?" _Pandora's voice projected in Max's head, _"I thought you were…"_

"_I'm asleep," _Max told her, _"it doesn't mean that I'm not aware of what's happening around me, and why did I have that annoying tune in my head?"_

"_Eh he…" _Pandora smiled ruefully as Max told her that, _"I kind of had Chocobos on the brain last night," _Pandora told him.

Max smiled in his sleep, _"I know," _he replied, _"we share dreams sometimes remember?" _He reminded her.

"_Yeah I remember," _Pandora answered, _"it's just that I had a problem with the WRO helpdesk service," _Pandora explained to him and she could hear Max's laughter in her head. _"What's so funny?" _Pandora demanded to know.

"_You've always had problems with helpdesk services," _Max reminded her as he grinned at the memory. _"I remember back at the palace you wanted to order a priceless Ming vase and they kept putting you on hold, the look on your face…"_

"_I get the idea!" _Pandora yelled in Max's head, _"I just don't see the point in them putting you on hold all the time, helpdesk services…ha! They're not exactly helpful!"_

"_Did you get in touch with Rufus?" _Max asked after sensing that Pandora was getting frustrated decided to change the subject.

"_Yeah," _Pandora replied calming down, _"he said that it'll take a while because the Sierra took some damage," _she explained to him, _"apparently it got shot down while trying to follow the ship we were on."_

"_Is everyone ok?" _Max asked, concerned for his friends.

"_Their fine," _Pandora reassured him, _"but the Sierra is out of commission until it's repaired."_

"_For how long?" _Max questioned.

"_I don't know," _Pandora replied shrugging her shoulders, _"it could be tomorrow, a few days from now, anyway," _she changed the subject, _"you should get some rest, you still look exhausted."_

"_I feel exhausted," _Max admitted, after this his voice faded from Pandora's mind as he continued to sleep. Pandora sat there for another few minutes stroking his hair, after a while she got up and began to explore the canyon.

* * *

"Come on Aerith!" Zack encouraged Aerith as she stood in the yard of WRO panting, she was holding a training sword in her hand. Zack was stood opposite her also holding a training sword.

"I don't know about this Zack," Aerith said in a worried tone as gave Zack a hesitant stare.

"You said you wanted to be more useful out in the field," Zack reminded her of what she said a little while ago. "And what better way to become more useful than learning how to use a sword."

"But what's wrong with my staff?" Aerith asked him.

"A staff's ok if you want to channel magic from it," Zack answered, "but say an enemy is attacking you at close range, you need to be able to defend yourself when you can't use magic, that's where the sword comes in."

"I understand where you're coming from," Aerith stated still unsure about what she was doing, "but a sword seems like such a violent weapon."

Zack sighed, "Aerith, any weapon can be violent if the wielder has violent intentions," he informed her, "but a sword can be used for defensive as well as offensive purposes," Zack got into a fighting stance and he held his sword out in front of him. "Ok, we'll start with the basics, there are three different kinds of strikes," Zack explained to her, "there's the vertical strike," Zack sliced down with his sword to show Aerith, "the horizontal strike," he sliced across, "and the diagonal strike," he sliced from corner to corner, "you understand so far?" He asked.

Aerith nodded, "I think I understand," she answered.

Zack smiled at her, "good, follow me," Zack walked to the other side of the yard until they reached the training area. Aerith saw a training dummy in the centre of the training grounds. "Try performing the three strikes on this dummy," he instructed her.

"Ok…" She replied nervously as she got into a fighting stance, she stood there for a few seconds staring at the dummy, then with a cry she charged at the dummy. She quickly performed a horizontal strike on the dummy with a quick vertical slice as a follow up, she repeated the process performing a strike at random, Zack was stood at the side grinning as he watched her. After half an hour he stopped her.

"Impressive," Zack stated as Aerith stood next to the dummy holding the sword in both her hands panting. "You've mastered all three strikes in half an hour."

Aerith gave Zack an exhausted smile, "thanks," she replied gratefully, "I never knew I had it in me…"

"Ok," Zack told her after seeing how tired she was, "I'll let you rest for a bit and then we'll continue." After a ten minute break Aerith was ready to resume her training. "Alright, I think we'll start on something a little more advanced, combinations." Aerith gave Zack a confused stare but she allowed him to continue, "ok, we'll start off with a simple one," Zack sliced downwards with his sword followed by a quick horizontal slash, this was followed by a swift upwards slash, "now you try it."

Aerith attempted the combination that Zack had shown her, and after three or four attempts she managed it. "I did it…" Aerith stated in a state of shock.

Zack grinned, "you're a quick learner," Zack complimented Aerith, this caused her to smile as her confidence slowly grew. "Ok, I think you're ready to try something a little harder." Zack did a quick downward slice before slicing quickly to the right, he then followed up with an upwards diagonal slash to the left hand corner before following up with another downwards vertical slash and a quick stab.

Aerith stared in shock at the combo that Zack did, "I can't do that…" Aerith replied still in shock.

"It's easy," Zack encouraged her, "come on, you did great with the other combo you can do this one."

"Alright," Aerith responded, she took a deep breath and began the combo, as she tried several attempts, some of her friends including Cloud, Tifa and Drogo came to watch.

"How do you think she's doing?" Cloud whispered to Drogo.

"She seems to be doing ok," Drogo whispered back to Cloud, as the two men and Tifa watched Aerith and Zack. After numerous attempts Aerith managed to pull off the combo.

"You're doing well," Zack stated happily to Aerith as she stood there panting, "now we go for something even more complex." Zack slashed horizontally through the air from right to left quickly following up with a quick upwards diagonal slash and another diagonal slash in the opposite direction making a cross shape. He then slashed horizontally to the left before performing a fast upwards slash, followed by another right horizontal slash, a quick stab and a powerful downwards vertical strike. Aerith took one look at Zack before she performed the same combo on the last remaining dummy, after her fifth attempt she managed to do the combo perfectly.

"That was great Aerith," Tifa replied encouragingly, Cloud and Drogo nodded in agreement.

Aerith turned round and stared at the group, "you guys were watching me?" She asked half angry and half shocked. "How long were you there for?"

"We just got here," Cloud answered truthfully, "it's nice to see that you're learning how to use a sword."

Aerith cheered up when she heard this," Thanks Cloud, that means a lot to me." A few hours later and Aerith had mastered all the sword combinations, sword/magic fusions, and the numerous defensive stances.

"Alright," Zack stated happily, "you mastered everything there is to know in the space of a day, that's a lot quicker than when I learned it."

"I guess my Cetra blood allows me to learn things quicker," Aerith stated.

"I think you're ready to use a real sword," Zack told Aerith, a sword suddenly appeared in Aerith's hand. "And you know how to summon one."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "you've changed so much from the woman I used to know."

Aerith blushed, she couldn't help but grin, "I guess I have," she replied timidly, "I'm not sure if I can use a sword in battle though."

"Of course you can," Zack said encouragingly, "you've pretty much mastered all the moves."

"But my opponents won't go easy on me," Aerith stated truthfully, "I could be killed straight away."

"Then they'll have to go through me first," Zack stated boldly as he wrapped his arms round Aerith's waist.

"You don't have to fight alone Aerith," Cloud replied, agreeing whole heartedly with Zack.

"Yeah," Drogo added, "you just need to have confidence in yourself, show your opponents what you're made of."

Aerith smiled, "yeah, you're right," she replied happily, "but…what if I lose my sword?"

"Don't worry about that," Tifa answered reassuringly as she walked over and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'll teach you martial arts so that if you do lose your sword you won't be completely defenceless."

"Thanks Tifa," Aerith replied gratefully, "I might take you up on that offer, but not right now, I'm feeling a little tired, I think I'm gonna go and lie down for a while," she then looks over at Zack, "you coming Zack?" She asked her boyfriend.

Zack grinned at Aerith, "now that's an offer I can't refuse," he stated in a half joking manner as he and Aerith left the training grounds.

Tifa and Cloud looked at each other, "is it me or are Aerith and Zack making up for lost time?" Tifa asked Cloud.

Cloud shrugged, "maybe," Cloud answered, "I guess they couldn't really do much in the Life Stream what with them being…well…dead and all."

Tifa thought about this then nodded, "I guess you're right," she agreed with Cloud, "I wonder how Max and Pandora are doing."

"They'll be fine," Drogo reassured Tifa, "they're both strong and if they had any sense they'd have gone to a safe place until we can rescue them."

"Until then there's not really much we can do," Cloud stated, "of course," he whispered to Tifa, "we have a lot of spare time on our hands and Cid said he'd let us know when the Sierra's ready."

Tifa nodded, she knew that Cloud was right, "come on Cloud," she stated flirtatiously as she grabbed hold of Cloud's arm, "I know where we could go." Without another word Cloud and Tifa left the training grounds, Drogo watched them leave.

"Fine!" He yelled after them, "leave me here all by myself!" Drogo sighed when he realised that were gone, "I wonder what Sunny's up to…" Drogo muttered to himself as he too left the training grounds to find Sunny.

* * *

Meanwhile in a pub in Kalm Reno and Rude were sat at the bar enjoying a drink. "Aaaaahhhh…" Reno sighed as he drunk some of his pint, "it feels good to be able to relax."

"Hmmm…" Rude agreed, "I can't remember the last time we had a day off."

"Well enjoy it while you can my friend," Reno stated, "cos the way things are going Rufus is gonna be having us working overtime for weeks," Reno then raised his glass, "to our night off."

Rude grinned, "To our night off," he said back as the two Turks gently knocked their pint glasses together. Reno and Rude quickly downed their pints just as a group of young women entered.

Reno grinned, "looks like Lady Luck is smiling down on us tonight Rude," Reno stated as he nodded his head towards the women who had entered the bar.

Rude looked over at the girls and then he looked back at Reno, "but what about Emma?" He asked his best friend.

"What about her?" Reno answered with a snort.

"Didn't you say you'd take her out to dinner as soon as you got a night off?" Rude questioned, Reno looked worried for a second but he brushed it off, he and Rude had already had quite a few pints.

"Nah…" Reno stated dismissively as he asked for two more pints, "I only said that to keep her sweet."

"Sweet?" Rude repeated the last word Reno said and he gave his friend a confused look.

"You don't know much about women do you Rude?" Reno questioned half jokingly as he slapped Rude playfully on the back. "I guess I'm gonna have to teach you a few things."

"Why can't I just make small talk with them?" Rude asked Reno, after losing count of the number of times Reno was slapped by women he didn't want to go through the same thing.

Reno sighed exasperatedly, "girls don't want small talk," he informed Rude, "they like smooth talkers, charmers, you've gotta act all cool, let 'em know that they're the most gorgeous thing in the world."

"And you think that'll work?" Rude asked Reno, his friend laughed.

"Of course," Reno answered as he gave Rude another playful slap on the back, "hey look, it's those chicks we saw enter the bar earlier," Reno stated as the three women the two Turks saw earlier walked up to the bar. "Ok Rude, just sit back and watch a master at work." Rude shook his head as Reno got off his stool and walked towards the women.

"Good evening ladies," Reno said as he flirted with the women, "can I just say that you three look so damn hot tonight!" The women blushed when Reno said this but they liked what they heard. "Someone should call Heaven cos there are three beautiful and incredibly sexy angels missing."

My," the woman closest to Reno stated, she was tall and slender with long blonde hair running the length of her back, she wore a red tube top, a red miniskirt and red knee length boots. "You're quite the charmer aren't you?" She asked as she flirted back with Reno.

"What can I say," Reno replied boastfully as he blew on his fingers, "I guess I have a natural gift when it comes to women, the name's Reno by the way."

Erin," The blonde haired woman introduced herself, "and these are my friends Susan," she points to a woman with curly ginger hair wearing a purple low cut dress and purple high heeled shoes. "And Lara," she points to a woman with shoulder length brown hair, she was wearing a black one piece cat suit, black elbow length leather gloves and black knee length boots.

"Those are beautiful names," Reno continued to work his charm, "what do you say I buy you three heavenly ladies a drink?"

"I don't see why not," Lara replied, "we'll have three white wine spritzers."

"Coming right up," Reno told the women, "hey bar keep!" Reno called the bar tender, a middle aged man with thinning hair appeared, "I'll have two pints and three white wine spritzers." The bar tender got the drinks and Reno paid for them. "Hey Rude!" Reno called over to Rude again, "you coming?"

Rude shook his head, but he was grinning, "nah," he answered happily, "I'd rather stay here and watch you make a complete ass of yourself."

Reno shrugged and he, Erin, Susan and Lara sat down at a table near the door. "So…" Reno asked the three women, still flirting with them, "what are three pretty young ladies such as yourselves doing in a quiet little town like this?"

"We thought we'd check out the nightlife here," Erin answered as she rubbed up against Reno openly flirting with him. "It's ok I guess."

"Well how about I give you a taster of the nightlife, Reno style," Reno boasted.

"Hmmm…" Erin thought for a while, "well that depends on what you're gonna give me a taster of." Erin wrapped her arms round Reno's neck and she kissed him passionately on the lips just as Emma entered the door in a very revealing low cut black dress. Her eyes grew wide with shock as she saw Reno kissing Erin, she stormed up to them.

"Having fun!?" She demanded as Reno and Erin quickly broke apart, Reno sorted out his even untidier clothes as he spotted Emma.

"Emma…" Reno stated in shock as he saw his girlfriend standing there with her hands on her hips glaring at him. "This isn't what it looks like…" he stated quickly defending himself.

Emma slapped Reno hard across the face, "YOU TWO TIMING, CHEATING BASTARD!" She screamed at Reno.

"Emma please…" Reno tried to calm her down, "it was just a bit of harmless fun…"

HARMLESS FUN!" Emma continued to yell at Reno causing him to cower under her wrath. "IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE HARMLESS FUN TO ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU KISSED THAT TROLLOP BEHIND MY BACK!"

"EXCUSE ME!" Erin shouted as she stood up to glare at Emma.

Reno buried his head in his hands, "please not now…"

"YOU HEARD ME!" Emma retorted, she picked up Erin's drink and she poured it down Erin's head causing her hair and her top and skirt to be soaked. "YOU KEEP YOUR DIRTY CLAWS OUT OF MY BOYFRIEND!" Emma continued to yell at Erin as the latter woman continued to stare at her outfit.

"YOU RUINED MY FAVOURITE OUTFIT!" Erin screamed at Emma.

"IT DIDN'T SUIT YOU ANYWAY!" Emma shot back as she stormed out of the bar, Reno got up and he ran after her.

"Emma wait!" Reno called out to his girlfriend as he caught up with her, Emma turned round and glared at Reno.

"YOU PROMISED ME THAT WHEN IT WAS YOUR NIGHT OFF YOU'D TAKE ME OUT TO DINNER!" Emma laid into Reno jabbing her finger into his chest.

"I'm sorry," Reno apologised to Emma, "it's just that Rude asked me if I wanted to go for a drink and I couldn't let him down."

"BUT YOU COULD LET ME DOWN!" Emma continued to interrogate Reno, Reno stammered but he couldn't come up with a response. "YOU CAN SLEEP ON THE COUCH TONIGHT!" Emma screamed as she stormed off down the street, Reno stood there too stunned to speak just as Rude came out of the bar.

"Looks like you're busted," Rude stated as Reno turned round to face him.

"Damn it!" Reno cursed loudly, "nothing happened between me and Erin, I was just flirting with her, I didn't think that she'd kiss me."

Rude shook his head, "that's your problem," he stated truthfully as Reno glared at him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Reno demanded.

"You openly flirt with women even though you have a girlfriend," Rude answered, "girls find it hard to resist you, still it was funny to watch."

"Yeah, yeah," Reno brushed it off, "laugh it up."

"Come on it's getting late, we should head back," Rude changed the subject as the two Turks made their way back to WRO Headquarters.

* * *

Pandora woke up the next morning to find that Max was still fast asleep, she was wondering how long it would be before Max woke up. She sat up and slowly stroked Max's face. _"He's so handsome when he's asleep," _Pandora thought to herself.

"_Thanks," _Max said in Pandora's head, _"oh and that shared dream we had was amazing._"

"_Yeah,_" Pandora agreed, she couldn't help but grin, _"it was." _Pandora's ears pricked up as she heard the sound of an engine in the distance becoming louder as it got nearer. "Is that Sierra?" She asked out loud as she threw covers off herself and quickly got dressed, she ran out of the room and stood next to the eternally lit Cosmo Candle. After ten minutes of waiting the Sierra had landed near the town and she saw her friends walking up the stone steps.

"Guys!" Pandora yelled as she ran up to greet her friends, "you finally came!"

"You didn't think we'd leave you and Max out here did you?" Nightshade asked Pandora as he was hugged by his daughter in law.

"Tempting though it was…" Drogo muttered under his breath but he soon regretted it when he felt searing pain in his ass. "Ow, ow, ow!" Drogo cried out in pain as he ran round in circles with his ass on fire. "It burns, it burns, it burns!" Pandora grinned at this.

"So where's the pain in the ass that I call my son?" Nightshade asked Pandora as he fired a water spell at Drogo's ass causing the flames to die out.

"Aaaaahhhhh…" Drogo heaved a huge sigh of relief as his ass was no longer burning. "Thanks Nightshade," Nightshade merely brushed it off as he waited for Pandora to tell him where Max was.

"He's in the inn," Pandora answered, "but he's unconscious."

"Unconscious…" Nightshade repeated, "just what were they doing to him?"

"That's something we can ask him when he wakes up," Vincent replied, "which room is he in and I'll go get him?"

"There's no rush is there?" Cid questioned Vincent as he stood there leaning against the canyon's wall. "I mean it'll take a while to get rid of the smell."

Pandora stared at Cid, "Smell…" She asked.

"Yuffie threw up on the ship…again!" Cid answered irritably as he glared at Yuffie.

"Hey!" Yuffie retorted as she glared at Cid, "you kept doing every flight manoeuvre in the book!"

"Just keeping everyone on their toes!" Cid argued back, "And I had the damn Sierra detailed as well and you went and threw up all over my damn floor!"

"I cleaned up the mess didn't I?!" Yuffie continued to argue.

"Ay!" Cid answered, "and you did a crap job an' all! Obviously they haven't heard of disinfectant in Wutai…Aaaaahhhhh!" Cid yelled and he ducked just in time as Yuffie's giant shuriken was stuck in the wall where Cid's head was a few seconds before. "What the hell?!" Cid yelled as he pointed his spear at Yuffie. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Barret shook his head, "looks like we're gonna be here all day at this rate."

"I estimate that there is a 90 chance that Cid will win this fight," Isis stated calmly seemingly unaffected by the argument.

"Really?" Drogo asked with a wide grin on his face, "Ok I got double or nothing on Cid winning the fight, any takers?" Zack was about to make a bet when Aerith stopped him.

"Don't encourage him Zack," Aerith warned Zack.

"Drogo…not now!" Sunny shouted as she glared at Drogo.

"Ok, ok…" Drogo stated sounding disappointed.

Pandora shook her head, but she was still grinning, she hadn't heard Cid and Yuffie argue in a long while, "he's in room number 20," Pandora told Vincent and she gave him the key to the room. Vincent entered the inn and five minutes later he came out with an unconscious Max slung over his shoulder, he saw that Yuffie and Cid had put their weapons away with Cid claiming that he didn't fight annoying, spoilt brats who threw up every time they flew in an airship.

"Alright you jackasses!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs, "let's get Max's heavy ass back to WRO!"

"But what about the smell?" Zack asked jokingly causing the pilot to glare at him.

"Forget the smell!" Cid yelled, "let's just get the hell out of here, this place bores the shit out of me!" Without another word everyone boarded the Sierra and the airship took off, the faint sound of Yuffie throwing up and Cid yelling could be heard.

* * *

"Uhhhh…" Max moaned as he began to stir, he woke up to find himself in a bed, he had countless wires connected to him and there was an overall clinical feel to the room.

"Max!" An all too familiar voice rang in Max's ears, Max looked up to see Sunny standing over him. "You're awake!"

"Sunny…" Max muttered as his vision became clearer, "where am I?" He asked the female hedgehog.

"You're in WRO Headquarters," Sunny answered, "Aerith and Angel are in here too," just as she said this Aerith and Angel walked up to Max.

"Thank goodness you're awake," Angel stated in relief, "you really gave us all a scare."

"Sorry…" Max apologised, he tried to sit up, but he felt dizzy and sick so he decided to lie back down again, at least until the nausea had passed. "How long was I out for?" He questioned.

Aerith folded her arms as she thought about the answer, "let's see, you've been out for about three days now, including the two days you spent in Cosmo Canyon," she answered Max.

"Pandora hardly left your side," Sunny added, she couldn't help but admire Pandora's dedication to Max, "we sent her to get some rest over an hour go."

"Any news on my captors?" Max asked them, all three women shook their heads.

"No," Angel answered truthfully, "Cid and the others chased after the airship you and Pandora were on, but the Sierra got shot down, fortunately it was able to be repaired."

Max chuckled at this, "of course it wouldn't have happened if Cid had have let me upgrade the Sierra, what about the Life Stream Situation?" Max asked his next question.

"More and more of the Life Stream is being corrupted," Aerith answered with a hint of urgency in her voice, "Rufus said he was going to be holding a meeting about it when you were well enough. He said that we can't put it off any longer."

"But for now, you should get some rest," Sunny advised Max, "we'll come back to check up on you." Aerith, Sunny and Angel left the room, Max closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Four hours later, Aerith deemed Max well enough to leave the med bay and the whole group was in the meeting room once more. There was none of the usual chatter that came before each meeting, everyone in the room was silent as the seriousness of the situation was apparent to them.

"As you all know," Rufus started the meeting in his usual sombre manner, "the Life Stream was slowly and surely being corrupted, if we allow this to continue then who knows what would happen to this world."

"But we don't even know who's doing this," Barret stated as he banged his cybernetic fist on the table leaving a dent.

"I do," Max replied, everyone in the turned their heads round to stare at Max, he slowly got to his feet, he was still a little unsteady but he was starting to feel better after he had a good meal inside him. "Our enemy is a Dark Kitsune known as Illusion," Max began to explain.

"Illusion!" Cid laughed out loud, "what kind of dumb ass name is that?!"

"She's called Illusion because one of her powers is to manipulate people's dreams and memories and create illusions from them," Max answered glaring at Cid, "she's also a skilled necromancer, that's how Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, Balthazar, Scarlet and all our other enemies keep on coming back."

"So what you're saying is, if we kill Illusion, we'll get rid of the others too?" Lance asked Max.

"It's more than likely," Max answered, "they need the necromancer to live, without the necromancer…they die."

"So what does she want with this planet?" Tifa asked, dreading the answer.

"She doesn't want to destroy it," Max answered as he revealed his knowledge on Dark Kitsunes, "Dark Kitsunes are conquerors, they prefer to take over worlds and corrupt them with darkness."

"And if the Life Stream gets completely corrupted…" Cloud started to say, but he didn't finish the rest of his sentence, he didn't need to as everyone in the room knew what would happen.

"Illusion can use it to fill the planet with darkness," Max continued his explanation, "which is why we have to act now before it's too late."

"But how?" Angel asked looking round at everyone hoping to get an answer, "how can we stop the Life Stream from getting further corrupted?"

"Don't you remember Angel?" Lance questioned his wife, "we already had a plan, but then Max got captured and we had to put it on hold so we could rescue him."

"Illusion has left the old Deepground base," Vincent stated calmly, "but I'm guessing she could easily warp herself or her minions back there whenever she pleases."

"But if we can destroy the reactors and purify the Life Stream it would make it easier for us to stop her right?" Yuffie asked giving everyone a hopeful stare.

"Illusion is over 9000 years old," Max told Yuffie and she hung her head, "she knows every single dark spell in the book and she's so skilled at necromancy that if she wanted to she could bring herself back to life."

"So how do we kill her?" Zack questioned.

"Holy water," Max answered, "but we're gonna need a lot of it."

"Let's just focus on shutting the reactors down," Rufus stated, "as mentioned in an earlier meeting the main security protocols were set up in the number one reactor between sectors eight and one," Rufus reminded everyone, "Zack, we need you to sneak into the reactor and switch off all the security protocols so we can storm the reactors and switch off the eight generators."

Zack cracked his knuckles, "not a problem," he boasted.

"It won't be easy," Reeve warned him, "my sensors in that area indicate that there are motion sensing turrets, armed guards, flamethrowers in the walls, spears that come out of the floor, swing pendulums of death and laser grids."

"You're forgetting," Zack stated, "thanks to my Life Stream powers, I can regenerate."

"You need at least 20 of your body to be able to regenerate," Reeve corrected Zack, "and the laser grids can cut you into confetti if you're not careful."

Zack gulped nervously when he heard that, "thanks Reeve…" he muttered half nervously and half sarcastically, "I so wanted to hear that…"

Reeve ignored Zack's comment, "once you've switched off the security in the reactors, everyone else can switch off the generators that are drawing the Life Stream into the reactors, once the Life Stream is liberated Aerith can purify it again."

"Errr…there's one problem," Max cut in, "I don't have a weapon."

"Don't worry Max," A familiar voice suddenly spoke up as Emily walked into the room, "your sword was broken but I fixed it."

Max stared at Emily, "you mended my sword…my ancestor's sword…" he stuttered hardly daring to believe it.

Emily nodded, "yep," she answered as she held out a thin case and gave it to Max, "I mended it and improved it."

Max opened the box to see his sword, it looked as good as new and the blade shone even brighter than usual, it also seemed to have a Holy aura about it. Max picked up the sword, "it feels lighter than usual," he remarked as he swung it round with ease.

"I used Mythril to reforge the blade," Emily explained to Max, "the sword is lighter, but it's as hard as dragon scales, the sword is virtually unbreakable."

"But where did you get the Mythril from?" Nightshade asked Emily his voice was filled with curiosity.

"When me Drogo and Sunny entered the Mythril mines, I brought some Mythril back with me, just in case we needed it, looks like it came in handy."

"And why is the sword glowing?" Max questioned, he wasn't angry, rather he was impressed.

"Oh, I saw a vat of Holy power in your workshop in the palace before I came here," Emily admitted, "I'm sorry I took it, I should've asked first."

"No, no," Max brushed Emily's apology aside, "if you hadn't have took it would still have been sitting on my shelf gathering dust, I'm glad you found a use for it."

Emily smiled and nodded, "just promise me that you'll use that sword to fight evil," she replied half jokingly.

Max grinned, "don't I always use my sword to fight evil?" he asked her just as jokingly.

"It's good to have you back Max," Emily stated happily.

Max grinned, "thanks," he replied gratefully, "it's great to be back."

"I'll send an intercept team with you to help," Rufus offered, "if we're to save the planet then we have to do it right."

"Thanks Rufus," Cloud replied gratefully, "it's light now, we should wait for the cover of darkness, that way, we're less likely to get caught."

Everyone nodded in agreement, they knew that it was better to act at night when there was less light around. But they also knew that one slip up could cost them the chance to save the planet from darkness.

* * *

Meanwhile, Illusion's ship had landed at its destination, the Northern Cave and it was in the process of being docked. "Imbeciles!" Illusion screamed at Sephiroth and Weis, "you let them escape!"

"We're sorry Illusion," The two men apologised.

"That's not good enough!" Illusion continued to yell as she stood up from her seat and paced up and down, not taking her eyes off Weis and Sephiroth, "I expected better from you both, but especially you Sephiroth!" Her yellow eyes stopped on Sephiroth for a second, the swordsman was about to open his mouth to speak but Illusion held up a hand to silence him. "I don't want to hear anymore excuses, I want results and if you fail me again I'll return you to the dust from whence you came!"

The two men bowed their heads and they walked out of the room just as two Deepground soldiers entered the room. "We've docked mam," they informed her as they bowed to her.

Illusion smiled, "good, my old fortress should still be here," she stated as she left the room. Illusion left the airship flanked by numerous bodyguards, she walked deep into the Northern Cave, the monsters dwelling within it hid as soon as they saw her, too afraid to leave their hiding places.

Illusion entered the deepest part of the part of the cave, she walked passed the Life Stream pool and she came to a stop at a solid wall. Hojo walked up to her, "but this is just a blank wall," he stated as he stared at the wall, Illusion merely smiled at Hojo.

"You're a brilliant scientist," she remarked, "but you really need to do more work on your research," Illusion placed her hand on the wall in front of her and as if by magic a hand shaped pattern suddenly appeared round Illusion's hand and glowed, the necromancer grinned as the glow faded, she removed her hand, and a low rumbling sound could be heard as a crack appeared in the wall and the two halves pulled away from each other revealing a passageway.

"My goodness…" Hojo stated in awe as he stared at the passage but he wasn't the only one who was shocked, just about everyone who had accompanied Illusion had no idea that this passageway existed.

Illusion's grin grew wider but she didn't say anything as she walked down the passageway, Hojo and the others followed just as the entrance slammed shut behind them. The group continued to walk down the dark tunnel, fortunately the tunnel wasn't very long and they soon ended up in a large rectangular room with countless tunnels leading away from it. There was futuristic looking equipment in the room only it looked like it had been there for centuries.

"Is this some kind of lab?" Hojo asked, curiosity got the better of him.

Illusion nodded, "you catch on quick Hojo, yes this is a lab, it was created two thousand years ago."

Hojo took his glasses off and cleaned them on his lab coat trying to think of anything he could say in response to this revelation. "But this equipment looks…"

"Futuristic," Illusion finished his sentence off for him, "Kitsunes and Dark Kitsunes are highly advanced, why we were already in the technological age when this world was in the Dark Ages, now, they should still be here."

"What should still be here?" Rosso found herself asking, she wasn't sure what to make of the place. She was used to secrets, but she could never imagine a 2000 year old lab.

Illusion walked over to a control panel and she pressed a button, the equipment in the room hummed to life, doors in the floor opened and countless glass cylinders rose out of the floor. Hojo walked up to one of the cylinders and he was surprised to see a mutated humanoid female with blue skin and dark blue markings all over her body, she had wild, purple hair which went down to her waist and she had an overall feral appearance. There were countless wires were connected to her. "Are they…" Hojo began to question even though he half knew the answer.

"Cetra," Illusion answered grinning evilly, "that's right."

"That's impossible!" Sephiroth spoke up as he walked round the cylinders to see more Cetra within them. "All the Cetra are dead!"

"Most of the Cetra were killed by Jenova," Illusion answered, "but the ones that were mutated by Jenova's curse were captured and brought here for some future purpose."

"But…they've been in here for over 2000 years," Yazoo stated, "they should be dead by now."

"They're in suspended animation," Illusion stated, "although they are over 2000 years old their bodies haven't progressed over the age of 20, Hojo, do you have the blood samples?"

"Yes Illusion," the scientist replied as he gave Illusion 20 or so vials containing Max's blood, "but are you sure that's enough?"

"I'm sure it'll be enough!" Illusion snapped at Hojo as she placed the vials into slots in the control panel, "with Max's DNA, the mutated Cetra will have Kitsune and Dark Kitsune powers, the powers of our enemy. The Cetra were the chosen people of this planet, chosen to protect and tend to the planet. Now they are slaves to my will and they will corrupt the planet and cover it in darkness, then I'll rule it with an iron fist, and no one will get in my way, ha, ha, ha!" Illusion laughed evilly as she pushed a button, the blood was drained from the vials and gushed through long tubes leading to the cylinders, the blood entered the cylinders and into the wires connected to the mutated Cetra inside them, the blood was pumped into them and after a few minutes the blood was completely absorbed.

Illusion grinned when she saw this, "finally, after two thousand years of waiting, I secured the blood of the chosen one, the prince of the Kitsunes. With my new army, this world will soon fall." She pushed another button on the control panel and the liquid within the cylinders was drained and the wires disconnected themselves from the mutated Cetra. Their eyes slowly flickered, the female in the cylinder closest to Illusion slowly lifted her hands up and banged her fists on the glass making Loz jump.

"Whoa!" Loz cried out as he jumped into Yazoo's arms, much to Yazoo's annoyance.

"Are you gonna cry Loz?" He asked half mockingly and half annoyed.

"I'm not gonna cry!" Loz snapped at Yazoo as his brother dropped him on the floor.

The female banged her fists on the glass a second time causing the glass to shatter. She slowly stepped out of the broken cylinder and lifted her head up, her eyelids fluttered open to reveal blood red eyes which glowed vividly, her pupils were thin black slits, she stared at Illusion, her fanged mouth curled into a sinister grin before she knelt down to her master. It wasn't long before the other mutated Cetra burst out of their glass prisons and bowed to Illusion, Illusion's grin grew wider as she saw this and she laughed evilly, her laughter echoed through the vast caverns of the secret lab and the entire Northern Cave causing the monsters to cower in fear again.

* * *

**Phew, chapter 28 is finally complete it took me a while to type up, sorry to keep you all waiting. I am going to be taking a break from this story for a little while as I am going to start working on other stories. Don't worry though I will still be working on this one as well, just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, they belong to Square Enix. I do however own characters I created myself.**


	29. Reactor Raid

**Chapter 29: Reactor Raid**

**I finally got round to typing the next chapter for this story, I apologise for its length but that is part of my writing style. P.s. I've changed the story's rating to an M so that I can include more gore.**

* * *

It had been at least ten and a half hours since Rufus had held the meeting and the sun had now set as evening approached. The whirring of jet turbines could be heard as the Sierra flew through the slowly darkening sky towards Midgar. Max was looking out of the window at the scenery, scenery he thought he would never see again. He still felt a little woozy but that was probably due to the savage beatings he got mostly from Loz but some of Illusion's other cronies had their piece of him too. Not to mention he was still trying to get all those drugs that Hojo had injected into him out of his system. Pandora saw Max looking out of the window and she walked over to him. "You ok?" She asked as she placed her hand on Max's shoulder.

"Yeah…" Max answered as he turned his head round to look at her, "I still feel a little woozy but I'll be ok."

"Maybe you should get some more rest," Pandora suggested as Max shook his head.

"I'll be ok," Max replied, "I've done enough resting for the last five days." Max turned his body round wincing in pain as he did so.

"Careful…" Pandora warned as she gave Max a worried look.

"I'm ok…" Max stated with a grimace as he felt the back of his neck, "damn…my neck still feels sore…"

"Well you did have a lot of needles injected into it," Pandora reminded him. "I'm surprised they didn't kill you."

"Nah…" Max replied as he felt the puncture mark on his neck, "I was too valuable a prisoner for them to just kill me. We haven't heard anything about Illusion for a while."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Pandora asked.

"Well…yeah," Max answered, "we don't know where she is or even what she's planning…" Max ruffled his hair, "well…no…that's not the complete truth…I know one thing she's planning, she's gonna use my blood to make her army more powerful…my powers…in the veins of our enemies…" Max shuddered at the thought of his own powers being used against him.

"Let's just focus on getting the Life Stream back to normal," Pandora stated as she put her hand on Max's shoulder to comfort him. "Then we can deal with Illusion and her lackeys."

Max nodded, "you're right," Max replied as he smiled at Pandora. "We should focus on one thing at a time, the future of this world is in our hands." The two heard the sound of laughter, they turned round and saw Cid at the controls laughing like a maniac as he made the Sierra go faster. The sound of jet turbines could be heard as the ship hurtled forwards.

Tifa walked up to Max and Pandora, "Looks like Cid is enjoying the new upgrades," Tifa remarked with a smirk as Cid continued to laugh. Max also smirked as he remembered upgrading the ship ten hours ago.

(Flashback)

_Cid was in the engine room of the Sierra tuning it up for the trip to Midgar, he was busy barking orders at the technicians. "Be careful with that! That engine is worth more than ten of your lives!"_

_"We're sorry Mr Highwind," One of the technicians apologised as the technicians continued to work more gently on the engine._

_Max entered the hangar and looked at the Sierra before climbing up the ladder and onto the airship, he entered the Sierra and made his way to the engine room where Cid was still giving his orders and technicians were running about the place carrying out his orders. "You know, I could upgrade the Sierra for you and make your job and the technicians' jobs easier," Max suggested, he spoke so suddenly that Cid almost jumped out of his skin. The pilot turned round and saw Max stood behind him._

_"Don't do that!" Cid yelled at the Kitsune, "are you tryin' to give me a heart attack?!" _

_"I didn't mean to creep you out," Max stated as he took a few steps closer to Cid. "But I am an inventor, and I'm also quite the skilled mechanic. I can make the Sierra operate so much better."_

_How…" Cid questioned as he gave Max a sceptical stare._

_"Hmmm…" Max stated as he paced round the engine room and touched one of the generators with his finger. "I could replace those propellers outside with say…ooooooohhhh…I don't know…jet turbines." _

_Cid's eyes grew wide with shock, "go on…" Cid uttered as he started to become intrigued, Max smirked and he began to tell Cid what he could do to improve the Sierra. "And you can really do all that?" Cid questioned as Max nodded._

_"Of course," Max answered as his grin grew wider. "I've tuned up the airship I have on my world about a million times. By the time I've finished you won't even recognise the Sierra."_

_Cid rubbed his chin, "I don't like the sound of that…" Cid stated in a worried tone as he gave Max an anxious look. "I don't want ya changin' ma baby too much."_

_Max sighed but he couldn't help but smile at Cid, "relax Cid, I know what I'm doing," the Kitsune reassured the pilot as a wrench appeared in his hand. "Just give me some time to make my adjustments and I'll call you when I'm finished."_

_"Alright…" Cid gave in, "but you better not wreck my ship." _

_"You have my word Cid," Max promised as he crossed his heart with his fingers. "You have my word as a royal."_

_Cid gave Max another sceptical stare, "maybe your word ain't enough."_

_Max sighed again, "Cid, I'm a prince, as a royal I'm bound to my word." Max explained, "any promise I make I have to keep."_

_"Alright, I'll take yer word for it," Cid stated as he left the engine room and made his way back into WRO HQ. Max smiled again as he got back to work._

_Ten hours later Cid and the others entered the hangar to find Max stood outside the Sierra waiting for them, he was leaning against the ship. "You guys took your time," he commented as he pushed himself off the ship._

_"We were on the other side of HQ," Cloud answered, "What's this about anyway?"_

_Max grinned, "I'll show you all," he replied as he walked closer to the group. "Behold!" Max exclaimed as he pointed at some brand new jet turbines. "Those old propellers which, to be perfectly honest were…I'm sorry to say this Cid…crap…" Cid scowled at Max as he heard this. "Sorry Cid, but they were…anyway…" Max quickly got back to the point, "they have been replaced by brand, spanking new, state of the art jet turbines…these babies can make the Sierra go faster than the speed of sound."_

_"You mean…it can break the sound barrier…" Yuffie asked as she gave Max a worried stare._

_"Yes, the Sierra is now cable of breaking the sound barrier," Max answered, "but the ride is a lot smoother so hopefully, you won't be sick."_

_"She better not be…" Cid threatened as he brandished his spear at Yuffie causing the ninja to flinch._

_"Why don't we continue the tour…" Max suggested quickly changing the subject, Cid put his spear away and the group entered the Sierra. "Well, I cleaned and waxed the floors first of all," Max explained as the group looked down at the floor._

_"Wow…" Cid commented obviously impressed, "the floor's so shiny I can see my reflection in it." _

_The group heard the sound of growling and they looked down and saw Red having trouble walking. "The floor is so shiny and slippery that my claws can't even grip it…" Red uttered as he fell flat on his stomach, "a little help please…" Nightshade sighed as he used his telekinesis to lift the beast up, "thank you," Red replied gratefully as Nightshade put him down again. _

_"You're welcome," the Kitsune responded as the group moved on._

_"I've upgraded all the living quarters," Max continued to explain as Max opened a door to one of the rooms. The group looked around and saw that the room was larger and had a more futuristic feel to it._

_"Hey, this is like being on the set of a sci-fi movie," Zack commented as he looked round the room. He saw a strange looking machine in a corner of the room near the giant bed. "Hey, what does this thing do?" _

_"That is a food and drink dispenser," Max answered as he walked over to Zack. "It's voice activated, all you do is talk into this speaker here," Max explained as he pointed to a speaker at the top of the machine. "You place your order and it comes out of the dispenser here." Max pointed at the large dispenser at the bottom of the machine._

_"It's that easy…" Aerith questioned, she too was intrigued by this._

_"Yeah," Max answered, "it's completely idiot proof, even Zack could use it."_

_Hey!" Zack yelled as he folded his arms and gave Max an offended look. "I am not an idiot!"_

_"Sure you're not…" Dark Max muttered sarcastically in Max's head._

_Max shook his head, "why don't you try it out Aerith?" Max offered as Aerith walked over, "just talk into the speaker."_

_"Ok…" Aerith replied as she got closer to the speaker, "chocolate ice cream please," Aerith requested. The machine hummed and bleeped before a tall glass with chocolate ice cream, brownies sandwiched between the ice cream and smothered in rich hot fudge sauce materialised in the tray like dispenser at the bottom of the machine. _(**A/N, this is a machine very similar to the kind of thing you'll see in Star Trek or any other sci-fi film/TV series, I just thought I'd add one in here because it was futuristic.**) _Aerith grabbed the glass with the ice cream in it, she also grabbed a spoon and began to eat the ice cream._

_"Let's move on," Max stated and the group left the bedroom. Max led the group to the engine room and they were surprised to see that the old cogs and propellers were replaced with more up to date technology. _

_"Ma…engine room…" Cid uttered in shock as he stared at the brand new generators._

_"I up dated the technology in this room," Max replied as he looked proudly at the new technology. "These generators have special power crystals in their cores," Max explained._

_"Power crystals…" Lance uttered as he stared at Max._

_"I had a few in my dimension," Max answered as he held his hand out and a blue coloured crystal appeared in it. "This is what a power crystal looks like, they're rare on Terra Firma but on the Kitsune World they can be found almost anywhere." Max informed the group, "anyway…I had a few spare and I thought that the Sierra could do with some upgrading, these crystals make the engine work more efficiently and silently."_

_"I wondered why I couldn't hear any noise," Cloud commented._

_"Good thing to, I used to get a headache just walking passed this room." Barret complained._

_"That's why I put the crystals in," Max stated as the crystal he was holding disappeared into his dimension again. "They're more efficient, don't make any noise and they never run out of power."_

_Cid's eyes lit up when he heard that, "they don't run out of power…" He asked as he gave Max a questioning stare._

_"Nope," Max answered, "most Kitsune technology runs off these crystals. Not to mention those old cogs were just ugly, no offence."_

_"None taken," Cid answered, "I can keep the crystals right?" Cid asked hopefully._

_"Yeah, they're yours," Max replied as he nodded his head, Cid smirked at this. "And all this time you wanted me out of the engine room…" Max stated as he gave Cid a sly grin._

_"Alright…you made yer point!" Cid yelled irritably, "what else have you done?"_

_Max led them out of the engine room and took them to another room where there was a pool table, a wide screen TV, the latest game console, a seating area and a karaoke machine. "Welcome to the media room," Max told everyone as they looked around._

_"Cool, the Playstation X!" Zack exclaimed excitedly, "I've always wanted one of those!"_

_"This room has everything," Tifa uttered in amazement as she stared round the room._

_"It even has a karaoke machine!" Aerith squealed with excitement, "we have to do karaoke some time!" Aerith suggested excitedly as she picked up the microphone._

_"You won't get me on one of those…" Cloud stated as he folded his arms._

_"We will," Zack replied as he walked up to Cloud and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Once we've got several pints in ya!" Cloud scowled at Zack, "relax, I was just kidding…jeez…you're such a stiff sometimes."_

_"Yeah…" Drogo agreed with Zack, "Don't be such a killjoy."_

_"Let's go to the bridge," Max suggested quickly changing the subject as the group left the media room and entered the bridge. The group saw countless flight technicians working on the new high tech computers. "I updated the computer systems," Max explained as the group stared at the new computers. "And I have a special surprise for you Cid." _

_"A surprise…" Cid uttered in shock, "it ain't even my birthday yet…"_

_"Think of it as an early birthday present," Max replied as he led Cid over to the captain's area. Max turned the computer on and pressed a button._

_"Greetings," a female voice that sounded exactly like Shera's suddenly spoke. "My serial number is 001364789, but you may call me Shera version 2, how may I be of assistance?"_

_"What the hell?!" Cid yelled as he leapt back in shock, "is this some kind of freakin' joke?!"_

_"Nope," Max stated, "I installed an A.I. into your computer, I programmed it to sound exactly like your wife."_

_"Joy…" Cid muttered, "But how did you get the voice?"_

_"I may have been responsible for that," Angel confessed as she held up her mobile and pressed a button causing a recording of Shera's voice to play. It played for a few seconds before Angel pushed another button and the recording stopped._

_"Shera version 2 is programmed to follow your every command." Max explained._

_"My every command…" Cid repeated as he grinned, "Shera 2, could you run a diagnostic on the Sierra?"_

_"Running diagnostic now…" Shera 2 answered, "The engines are running at full capacity and the shields are at 100."_

_"Thanks," Cid replied gratefully._

_"I also programmed Shera 2 to obey Cloud's commands if you're ever indispose," Max told Cid._

_"I'm the pilot here!" Cid snapped at Max causing the Kitsune to shake his head. "But I gotta admit, I love what you've done with the ship."_

_Max smirked, "see, you should've let me upgrade your ship earlier," Max stated smugly._

_"Alright…you made yer point!" Cid yelled as Max continued to smirk._

_"I've also added an extra mod to the Sierra," Max added as Cid stared at Max wondering what he meant. "But I'm not gonna show you that one just yet."_

_"Why not?!" cid demanded eager to know what else Max had done to his beloved airship._

_"Because it's not necessary to show you right now and the Sierra needs to be airborne first," Max answered. "Well that's about everything, I guess we should be heading to Midgar now." _

_"Yeah, you're right." Cid agreed as he pushed a button on the intercom. "I need the Sierra takin' to the runway pronto!" Cid yelled down the intercom._

_"Understood captain," one of the technicians spoke back and the Sierra was taken to the runway. _

_Once everything was clear Cid flipped the switches on his control panel to ignite the engines and the Sierra soon took off and made its way to Midgar._

(End Flashback)

* * *

Max continued to smirk at the memory of seeing Cid's face and enthusiasm for the improvements, "Cid should've let me upgrade the Sierra ages ago." Max stated still grinning smugly.

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "then the Sierra wouldn't have been so easily damaged, so…"

"So what…" Max asked as he gave the raven haired woman a questioning stare.

"That extra upgrade you put into the ship, what was it?" Tifa asked curiously.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Max answered as he tapped the side of his nose with his finger.

"You can tell us," Pandora probed, "especially your beautiful wife."

"Like I said," Max replied refusing to give in. "It's for me to know and you to find out, besides, I don't really want to go into it right now."

Pandora and Tifa sighed, Tifa was about to say something when she was interrupted by something. "SMOKE ON THE WATER!" Drogo's loud voice could be heard as music blared away on the karaoke machine in the media room. (A/N, the line is from the song Smoke on the Water by a band called Deep Purple. I don't own the song.)

"Sounds like Drogo's enjoying himself…" Pandora muttered irritably as she held her hands over her ears. "It would be better if he could actually sing…"

"I'm just glad to see everyone again and hear their voices," Max stated happily, "even if it is Drogo's terrible singing." Max closed his eyes and let Drogo's out of tune singing flow through his ears.

"Want to go to the media room?" Tifa asked as she smiled at Pandora.

"Ok," Pandora answered, "you don't mind do you Max?" Pandora asked.

"No, go ahead," Max answered without opening his eyes, "Have fun."

"Ok, see you later," Pandora replied and she and Tifa made their way to the media room.

Max sighed as he watched them leave before turning round to look out of the window again. "How are you holding up?" A familiar voice asked, Max turned round and saw Cloud stood behind him.

"Cloud…" Max uttered in surprise as he jumped back slightly, "I didn't hear you coming."

"I've been watching your fighting style with great interest," Cloud stated as he walked up to the window and looked out at the scenery outside, leaning on the railing as he did so. "Your sword skills, how you can cast magic without using materia, your different forms," Cloud began to list everything off.

"Why are you mentioning this?" Max questioned as he stared at Cloud.

"You just remind me of someone," Cloud answered as he turned round to look at Max. "A friend of ours, he was a brave warrior who helped us with the Meteor crisis and several other things."

"I see…" Max stated as he walked over to the railing and leaned on it, "who was he? This friend of yours," Max asked as he gave Cloud a curious look.

Cloud sighed, "you know something, I've forgotten his name," the ex SOLDIER replied not taking his eyes off Max. "I know, it sounds bad not remembering a friend's name but…it's been a while since I've seen him. It's just seeing you fight has reminded me of him that's all."

"Do you miss him?" Max asked.

Cloud nodded, "yeah," he admitted, "but he's doing other things."

Max chuckled slightly, "busy man huh…" he replied good heartedly.

Cloud also chuckled, "yeah, something like that," the ex SOLDIER responded. "Anyway," Cloud quickly changed the subject "it'll be another half hour before we reach Midgar, do you want to go to the media room?"

Max nodded, "sure," he answered as he and Cloud pushed themselves off the railing, "I could do with a few laughs after being held prisoner."

Cloud laughed at this and he and Max made their way to the media room, when they entered they saw Tifa, Aerith and Pandora sat down on comfortable chairs talking. Zack was singing on the karaoke machine, Barret and Lance were playing pool and Drogo was on the game console. Lance had potted the black ball causing Barret to stare at him in shock, "that was an impossible shot…" Barret uttered hardly daring to believe it. "How did you do that?"

"The sensor in my eye," Lance answered smugly as he pointed to his left eye. "It enables me to pull off feats that are otherwise impossible, like that seemingly impossible shot."

"Yeah, yeah…" Barret muttered dismissively, "how about another round?"

Lance smirked," I'll just kick your ass again…" Lance stated half warningly and half mockingly as he set up the balls. "You wanna break this time?" Lance asked, Barret grinned as he got into position and the multicoloured balls fired off in all directions on the table.

Zack had just finished singing and moved away from the karaoke machine and walked towards Aerith, he sat down next to her and kissed her on the neck. "Uuuuuuuhhhh…" Pandora uttered as she took her fingers out of her ears, "how could you two listen to that?" Pandora asked as she stared at Tifa and Aerith.

"WHAT?!" The two women yelled at the same time as they removed earplugs from their ears.

"That's how…" Pandora stated when she saw the earplugs, "I wish I had a pair of those…"

"The way he was singing, you'd still have been able to hear it with the earplugs in," a familiar voice suddenly spoke up. The group turned round and saw Yuffie stood at the door, her hair was all over the place and there was a sleeping mask on her head just above her eyes. "I know I did…" Yuffie muttered irritably as she glared at Zack. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She screamed at the raven haired man, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET MY BEAUTY SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE MAKING SUCH A RACKET?!"

"With a face like yours you're gonna need plenty of it…" Zack retorted as he grinned at Yuffie.

"Grrrrrr…" Yuffie growled under her breath as she continued to scowl at Zack. "I suffer from motion sickness and I'm trying to sleep it off…" Yuffie continued to rant irritably, "I don't need your voice piercing my ear drums!"

"Relax…" Zack uttered as he started to back away from Yuffie slightly, "you're scaring me…besides I've finished anyway."

"Good," Yuffie snapped back, "I can finally get some piece and quiet."

"Hey Max, why don't you get up there and sing…" Tifa suggested as she smiled at the Kitsune.

"I don't know…" Max replied as he ruffled his hair nervously, "I'm not really much of a singer…besides…I get stage fright…"

"Come on…" Pandora chipped in as she took hold of Max's hand, "it'll be fun, besides, I could come up there with you and help you get over your stage fright…"

Max stared at Pandora before sighing, "alright…" he gave in, "but we're only singing one song…"

"Ok…" Pandora agreed as she dragged Max to the karaoke machine and started to look through the tracks before she chose one that she thought would be good. Pandora hit the play button and music started to blare out of the karaoke machine.

"Uuuuuuuhhhhh…" Yuffie moaned as she rubbed her eyes with her hands and winced as she heard the music. "I'm going to bed…" she muttered as she left the room.

"Pandora…" Max nervously called out Pandora's name as she gave him a microphone, "what song did you pick?"

"Just relax," Pandora answered as she picked up a microphone and stood next to him. "Let loose and have fun with it…" Pandora advised as she brought the microphone to her lips, "tell me about it stud…" Pandora began in a sexy voice before giving Max a gentle nudge.

"I got chills, they're multiplyin'," Max began to sing, he was a little nervous at first but he soon got into it. "And I'm losin' control, 'cause the power you're supplyin'…IT'S ELECTRIFYIN'!" Max yelled the last part of the verse at the top of his lungs as he removed his shirt and started swinging it round above his head causing everyone in the room to stare at him in shock.

"You better shape up," Pandora sung the next part trying hard not to laugh as Max continued to swing his shirt round in the air. "'Cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you," Pandora continued as she jabbed her finger into Max's bare chest. "You better shape up, you better understand, to my heart I must be true!" Pandora sang the last part of the verse as she placed both her hands on her heart.

"Nothin' left, nothin' left for me to do," Max and Pandora sang at the same time. "You're the one that I want, you are the one I want, o, o, oo!" They both sang the chorus as they both pointed at each other, "the one that I want, you are the one I want, o, o, oo, the one I need, oh yes indeed!" Max and Pandora yelled the last part out before Pandora turned her back on Max and walked to the other side of the stage.

"If you're filled, with affection," Pandora started to sing the second verse still with her back to Max. "You're too shy to convey, mediate in my direction. Feel you're way!" Pandora sang the last part as she turned her head round slightly and gave Max a sly grin.

"I better shape up, 'cause you need a man," Max sang the next part of the verse as he walked over to Pandora. And wrapped his arm round her waist.

"I need a man!" Pandora sung loudly as she smiled slyly, "who can keep me satisfied!" Pandora winked as she continued to sing.

"I better shape up if I'm gonna prove," Max sung his part.

"You better prove," Pandora sung as she turned round so that she was facing Max. "that my fait is justified!"

"Are you sure?" Max asked.

"Yes, I'm sure deep down inside," Pandora answered, she and Max took a deep breath before singing the chorus again.

"You're the one that I want, you are the one I want, o, o, oo, honey!" Max and Pandora sung the chorus for the final time. "The one that I want, you are the one I want, o, o, oo, the one that I want, you are the one I want, o, o, oo. "You're what I need, oh yes indeed!" Max and Pandora held the final note until the song ended. They both bowed as everyone cheered and clapped loudly. (**A/N, the song that Max and Pandora were singing is called The One That I want, it is from the musical Grease. I don't own the song it belongs to its respective owner.**)

"That was amazing," Tifa complimented her friends as they got off the stage and walked back over.

"Yeah," Aerith agreed as she gave Max and Pandora a smile, "I never knew you could both sing."

"Oh yeah," Pandora answered, "Max is a real pro, he sings in the shower every morning."

"Pandora!" Max yelled at his wife as he scowled at her.

"What…" Pandora replied as she gave Max a small shrug, "you do sing in the shower."

That's not something I wanted broadcasting," Max stated as he folded his arms.

"Max sings in the shower…" Drogo asked as he smirked at Max before taking out a pen and a note pad. "Man anything I hear after this is pure gold," Drogo continued as he began to write on the pad before it burst into flames. "Yikes!" Drogo yelled in shock as he dropped the charred remains of the note pad and the ashes landed on the floor. Drogo looked up and saw Max stood there with his hand held out in front of him, magical energy pulsing from it. "Hey!" Drogo snapped as he glared at the Kitsune.

"Drogo…I don't want you telling anyone about it ok!" Max snapped back.

"What would you do if I did?" Drogo asked mockingly as he gave Max a sly grin.

Max grinned back as a fireball formed in his hand, "Pandora's not the only who has a quick fire shot," Max answered.

"That little flame couldn't incinerate a fly," Drogo retorted as he pointed at the small fireball in Max's hand.

The fireball in Max's hand increased in size until Max was able to hold it over his head, "You were saying…" Max questioned mockingly.

"Errrrr…" Drogo stammered to shocked to speak.

"My magic skills have increased since our last adventure Drogo," Max explained as he still held the giant fireball above his head. "I know how to combine spells to make them more powerful, I know how to increase the size of the spell as you have just witnessed. And…I know quite a few Nova spells, I can go on, take your pick. Bearing in mind that this particular spell can cause some extremely nasty burns and can incinerate several ant hills in a row."

"You w…wouldn't…" Drogo stammered as he began to become frightened of the giant fireball.

Max smirked evilly at the hedgehog, "try me…" he answered menacingly as his eyes flashed red for a second before returning to normal.

"I'm going…" Was all Drogo said before he ran out of the media room as fast as he could.

Max smirked again as he easily cancelled the spell, "works every time," Max stated as he walked back over to Pandora.

"Wait…you were bluffing…" Cloud asked as he gave Max a questioning look.

Max nodded, "yep, I wouldn't really use a spell that big and that powerful in an enclosed space with all my friends around." He answered, "I was just increasing its size to show Drogo what damage I could cause if he tried anything like that again."

"It helps to keep Drogo in line," Pandora added as Cloud nodded to show that he understood.

"How about an encore…" Angel suggested as she looked at Max and Pandora.

"Yeah, you have to sing another song," Tifa insisted, "maybe Max could go solo."

"I don't think so…" Was all Max said,

"Max, Max, Max, Max!" Zack started to chant for a few seconds before everyone was joining in chanting the Kitsune's name over and over again.

"Once is enough for me thanks," Max replied ignoring the chants, "I'm gonna go somewhere else for a while." Max told the group before leaving the media room, he could hear disappointed moans coming from the group and Zack muttering 'party pooper' under his breath but Max just ignored it and walked down the corridor. He saw Nightshade in his usual spot leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. "Hey dad," Max called out to the older Kitsune.

"Hmmmm…" Nightshade mumbled under his breath as he opened his eyes and saw Max stood in front of him. "Oh…it's you…" he stated in a monotone voice causing Max to scowl at him.

"Gee…thanks…" Max muttered sarcastically, "Is that any way to greet your son?"

Nightshade chuckled slightly as he pushed himself off the wall, "what do you want?" The Kitsune asked his son.

"Just thought I'd see how you were," Max answered as Nightshade smiled slightly.

"I'm fine," the older Kitsune answered, "you know me, I'm tough."

"I know," Max answered, "why are you here by yourself?" Max asked inquisitively as he stared at his father.

"I like the peace and quiet," came the reply, "not that I get much of that round here," Nightshade continued a hint of sarcasm in his voice, which caused Max to laugh.

"I see your point," Max agreed with the older Kitsune as Nightshade smirked. "Why don't you go to the media room for a while, play some pool or something." Max suggested but Nightshade merely shook his head.

"Nah," he answered, "I'm not really the social type, besides I really don't want to listen to some wannabe losers who think they can sing but really they can't carry a tune to save their lives."

"Some of us aren't that bad…" Max uttered in an offended tone as he folded his arms and scowled at Nightshade.

"I don't like karaoke," Nightshade stated as he started to walk off.

"Too fun for you…" Max asked mockingly as he followed Nightshade.

Nightshade stopped in his tracks before turning his head round and glaring at Max out of the corner of his eye. "Watch it…" he uttered menacingly as his red eye flashed.

"Come on…" Max continued to probe deeper, "remember that song you sung at mine and Pandora's wedding reception that was…" Max stopped for a moment as he tried to think of what to say next, "a unique experience…" Nightshade lifted his eyebrow, "ok…it was the worst thing I'd ever heard…but you looked like you were enjoying yourself…and that's the main thing."

"I saw Shelke earlier," Nightshade informed Max quickly changing the subject. "She said she wanted to see you in the computer room."

"Ok, thanks," Max thanked his father merely nodded in response. "I better go and see what she wants, later dad." Max stated as he patted his father on the shoulder before turning round and walking off, Nightshade watched Max go before shaking his head and walking off in the other direction.

Max walked through several more corridors before he entered the computer room, he saw Shelke sat in her usual spot with the helmet on her head. "Shelke…" Max called out the girl's name as he walked closer to her, "you there?"

As Max got near Shelke, she lifted her hands up and removed the helmet. She put it down next to her before looking up at Max, she smiled when she saw him. "I see you got my message," she stated in her usual manner.

"Yeah," Max answered as he ruffled his hair.

"It's good to have you back among us," Shelke stated as she gave Max a courteous nod. "You had us all worried, I'm just going to check your vitals," Shelke told Max as she stood up.

"My vitals…" Max repeated, "but I feel fine…I just have a few pains here and there but it's no big deal…right…"

Shelke just looked up at Max, "you were constantly beaten up and injected," she answered in a serious tone. "Plus you were out of it for a while, I have to check if you're well enough to go into battle." Shelke walked over to another chair, "sit down on the chair," Shelke ordered as she pointed to the chair she was standing next to. Max walked over and he sat down in the chair, Shelke picked up another helmet and held it over Max's head.

"What's with the helmet?" Max asked as he stared nervously at it.

"Just relax, this helmet links you to the computer, it enables me to check on your vitals and your health both external and internal," Shelke explained, "I know it'll feel a little uncomfortable but it's necessary." Max nodded and Shelke put the helmet on Max's head, she then walked over to a computer and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard before holographic versions of Max's internal organs appeared on the screen. "Let's see," Shelke muttered to herself as she began to press more buttons on the keyboard causing the screen to zoom in. Shelke began to examine Max's vitals as Max breathed in and out slowly to help keep himself calm.

"How is it?" Max asked as he tried to look in Shelke's direction but the helmet made it impossible for him to see.

"Well, your vitals are normal," Shelke answered, "and your brain didn't sustain any damage despite the number of potent tranquilizers that were injected into you."

"And…the drugs…" Max uttered as he tried to resist the temptation to rub his neck and arm.

"The drugs are completely out of your system now," Shelke replied, "so you don't have to worry. I'm just going to check your general health now." Shelke pushed a few more buttons as she continued to check Max over. After a while she shut the computer off and walked over to Max and removed the helmet, Max stood up. "You're perfectly fine," Shelke told Max as she smiled at him, "you sustained no internal injuries and your external injuries have healed."

"That's good," Max replied as he smiled back, "but what about the pains in my neck?"

"It's nothing to worry about," Shelke replied, "it's because of the number of injections you had, it will go away in time."

"That's a relief," Max stated as he began to relax, "so that means…"

Shelke smiled again, "you are perfectly capable of going into battle."

"Good," Max answered as he smirked, "I can get my revenge on Loz for beating me up."

"I like to check the vitals of everyone to make sure that they are fine," Shelke told Max. "I checked yours now because of what you went through."

"I see…" Max stated as he scratched his head, "what did you want to see me about?"

Shelke led Max back over to her chair, "I've been going into the SND non-stop since you returned," Shelke explained to Max. "I've been trying to find information and the location of Illusion."

"What did you find?" Max asked eager to find out where his enemy was.

"Illusion and her minions are currently in the Northern Cave," Shelke answered as she sat back down in her chair.

"The Northern Cave…" Max repeated Shelke's last words as he stared at her, "are you sure?"

Shelke nodded, "quite sure," she replied, "the SND never lies, Illusion is in the Northern Cave but for what purpose I do not know. That is something I will have to research," Shelke informed Max.

"Let me know when you find anything, you've got my number right?" Max asked.

Shelke smiled again, "I always have your number," she answered, she was about to put her helmet on to go back into SND again when she suddenly put it down again and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Max asked his voice was filled with concern.

Shelke sighed again, "I was once with Deep Ground," she replied a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I see…" Max stated, "but you're not with them now."

"I know," Shelke responded as she sat back in her chair, she sat still for a second before sitting back up again. "Be honest with me Max, how old do you think I am?" Shelke asked the Kitsune.

"You want me to guess your age…" Max questioned as Shelke nodded, "ok," Max replied as he placed his hand on his chin and started to think. "Nine…maybe ten…" Max guessed as he looked at Shelke.

Shelke shook her head, "I'm actually twenty years old," she answered a hint of sadness in her voice.

"You're twenty…" Max uttered as he stared at Shelke in shock, "but you don't look any older than nine…"

"I know it's hard to believe," Shelke answered, "but it's true."

"What happened?" Max asked not taking his eyes off the girl in the chair.

"When I was nine years old I was taken into Deep Ground," Shelke began to explain as she sat back in her chair again. "My body was pumped with Mako, for some reason it stopped the aging process. I still aged chronologically but physically I'm still nine years old." Shelke sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Max uttered sadly as he gave Shelke a sympathetic look. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

Shelke shook her head, "no," she answered still with her eyes closed. "Although my body no longer needs Mako to sustain it thanks to Reeve, I haven't been able to find a way to age my body so that it was on par with my chronological age."

"There must be something," Max stated as he started to think.

"I've tried everything I could think of," Shelke responded, "I've looked at every piece of research I could find but I've found nothing."

"I'm sure even Hojo would've thought of something…" Max uttered.

"There's nothing in Hojo's research either," Shelke responded as she sighed again. "I know I sometimes come off as cold and abrupt but that's just how I operate. But, now, I just want to be normal, sure I help the WRO but there are times when I just want to go on a girls' night out with Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie. Unfortunately there are the age restrictions."

"You must be desperate," Max stated.

Shelke opened her eyes suddenly, "excuse me…" she uttered.

"Go on a girls' night out with Yuffie…" Max answered as he chuckled slightly.

Shelke also laughed slightly, "good point, but Tifa and Aerith would be there as well." She sighed again and she hung her head.

Max sighed again and knelt down beside Shelke, "listen Shelke," Max started to say as he placed his fingers under Shelke's chin and gently lifted her face up so that she could look at him. "I'll do whatever it takes to give you an adult body."

Shelke's eyes widened when she heard that, "y…you really mean it…" she stammered hardly daring to believe what she was hearing.

Max nodded, "I promise," he answered sincerely as he crossed his finger over his heart.

Shelke smiled weakly, "you shouldn't make promises that are impossible to keep," she warned the Kitsune.

"I think I'm capable of keeping this promise," Max responded. "I will find a way to help you, it may take a while but I'll find a way."

"I know you will," Shelke stated as she continued to smile at Max. "I trust you Max, I trust your word."

Max smiled back, "thanks," he replied gratefully as he removed his hand from under Shelke's chin and stood up.

"I better get back to work," Shelke stated as she picked the helmet up again. "I need to find out more information, plus I'll be guiding you all through your mission."

Max smiled again, "with you guiding us this mission can't fail," Max complimented the girl's computer skills.

Shelke smiled back, "thank you, that actually means a lot to me. I will guide you as best I can."

"Thanks Shelke, we can always count on you," Max told the girl.

Shelke was about to respond when Cid's voice echoed through the intercom, "alright you good for nothin' gobshites! We're comin' close to Midgar now, everyone had better prepare themselves, Cid out!"

Max shook his head when he heard that, "well, I guess I better go and prepare myself," Max stated as he started to leave the computer room.

"Don't forget your promise," Shelke called out to the Kitsune.

Max stopped and turned round to look at Shelke, "I never forget the promises I make to my friends," he answered, he smiled at Shelke one more time before he walked out of the computer room. Shelke smiled one more time before putting the helmet back on her head and diving into the SND.

* * *

Meanwhile in the secret area of the Northern Cave Illusion was spying on Max and the others through a crystal ball. "So…they're heading to Midgar to destroy all the reactors," Illusion spoke to herself as she looked deeper into the crystal ball. "You may have escaped me this time Max but you can't escape your inevitable death forever," Illusion continued, "you have yet to face my new soldiers, but I highly doubt that you'll survive against them." Illusion laughed evilly as she said this.

Hojo entered the room, "all of the new soldiers have been injected with Max's blood," Hojo informed Illusion.

The Dark Kitsune grinned evilly, "excellent, I knew I could count on you Hojo," Illusion complimented the scientist as she made the image in her crystal ball disappear and she stood up and walked towards Hojo. "Max and his friends are heading to Midgar to destroy the reactors," Illusion explained. "I can't allow that to happen, I will be despatching everyone including the new soldiers to Midgar to stop them."

"Do you want me to tell them?" Hojo asked.

"No," Illusion replied, "I've given them all the order telepathically, they'll be in Midgar as we speak. Max and the others won't even know what hit them. Ha, ha, ha!" Illusion laughed evilly, her laughter echoed through out the Northern Cave.

Meanwhile the Sierra was hovering over Midgar and everyone was at the back of the airship putting parachutes on as they prepared to jump into Midgar. The back door opened and the wind blew into the room. "I told the other pilots to keep the Sierra up!" Cid informed the group yelling over the sound of the wind.

"Alright! This is it everyone!" Max called out to group as he walked towards the open door. "We'll destroy those reactors and re-purify the Life Stream!"

"Why are we jumping out of the airship?" Angel questioned as she stared nervously at the open door.

"Because it's more excitin'!" Cid answered as he grinned at Angel, "besides, Midgar is crawlin' with monsters and I don't want anythin' to happen to the Sierra!"

Max jumped out of the Sierra and the rest of the group followed suit with everyone running towards the open door and diving out of it. "Whhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooo!" Max yelled as he fell through the sky.

"I'm not afraid of heights…I'm not afraid of heights…" Angel muttered to herself repeatedly as she tried hard not to look down.

"This is livin'!" Drogo shouted at the top of his lungs as he performed several flips in the air.

"Show off!" Lance called out to the hedgehog as he rolled his eyes. As soon as the group reached a certain point they pulled on the strings of their back packs and the parachutes shot out slowing down their fall.

After a while they reached the ground and struggled to get their parachutes off, "now what?" Pandora asked as she looked around the ruined city.

"This way," Cait Sith answered as he bounded off behind the corner. The group followed the cybernetic cat and they ended up in what was left of an alleyway.

"This is a dead end…" Sunny remarked as she looked at the remains of a building.

"That's where you're wrong lassie," Cait Sith stated as he walked over to what looked like a door in the floor and opened it.

"I remember this place," Red commented as he walked towards the open door. "This door leads to the underground."

"The underground leads to the reactors," Cloud stated. "Come on!" Cloud walked up to the open door and walked down the steps.

"I predict that we'll have many battles in that tunnel," Isis stated in her usual manner as she followed Cloud down the steps.

"Isis seriously needs a boyfriend…" Drogo muttered as he watched her walked down the steps. "Then maybe she won't be so miserable."

"You're forgetting, every time she meets a potential boyfriend she scares him off." Sunny reminded her husband.

"I wonder why…" Drogo mumbled sarcastically.

"Come on," Tifa stated as she walked passed the group. "Cloud and Isis are waiting." Without another word the group walked down the steps and entered the underground. The group gasped when they saw how complicated the room looked.

"That's a lot of stairs…" Max remarked as he looked all around him. "How will we know which way to go?"

"Relax," Cloud answered as he started to walk down the first set of steps. "We've been down here before, we'll guide you." The group followed Cloud down the first set of steps and they began to traverse through the underground labyrinth fighting several monsters that had taken to living in the underground.

After a while they came across a ventilation shaft, "looks like a dead end…" Pandora stated.

"No, it leads to the subway," Tifa answered as she smiled at Tifa. "We have to crawl through this vent."

"You expect us to crawl through that hole…" Angel questioned as she looked at the vent and then down at herself. "But…it's probably dusty in there…my dress will get all dirty…"

"You sound just like my soon to be ex girlfriend," a familiar voice spoke up. The group turned round and saw Reno, Rude and Elena stood behind them.

"When did you guys get here?" Cloud asked as he continued to stare at the three Turks.

"About five minutes ago," Reno answered in his usual casual manner as he leaned against the wall. "Rufus figured that you guys would need help."

"So he sent us to assist you," Elena added as she smiled at the group as Rude silently nodded.

"How are things with you and Tseng?" Aerith asked the blonde haired Turk.

"To be honest…it's not going so well," Elena admitted as the smile disappeared from her face. "He's become so obsessed with work."

"This is Tseng we're talkin' about…" Reno stated as he stared at Elena. "He's always been a workaholic and he always will be...and when was the last time he even cracked a smile?"

"Yeah…" Zack agreed with the red haired Turk, "Even when I used to work along side him he didn't laugh at my jokes or even crack a smile." Zack informed the group as he thought back to his SOLDIER days.

"He missed three dates in a row just so he could fill in some paperwork," Elena stated sadly. "Sometimes I think work is more important to him than I am…"

"That's not true Elena," Tifa reassured the blonde haired woman as she walked up to her and placed her hand on Elena's shoulder. "Tseng cares a lot about you."

"He has a funny way of showing it…" Elena stated irritably as she folded her arms.

"Well, I think it's time you told Tseng exactly how you feel," Tifa told the woman.

"What do you mean?" Elena questioned as she stared at the raven haired woman.

"You need to tell Tseng that you won't accept second best," Tifa answered. "You need to be firm with him, you need to ask Tseng which one's more important to him, his work or you."

Elena thought for a moment before nodding, "you know Tifa, you're right, if Tseng really does care about me then he needs to show it. If he does care about me then he should put me before his work."

"That's the spirit!" Tifa exclaimed as she gave the Turk a thumbs up sign.

"Thanks Tifa," Elena replied gratefully as she smiled at her friend. "I should go to you for relationship advice more often."

"Ahem…" Cloud cleared his throat causing the two women to stop talking and stare at him. "When you two have finished giving relationship advice, we have a job to do."

"Sorry," Elena and Tifa apologised in unison, Cloud examined the vent before opening it and crawling through. He crawled through the vent and climbed down the small ladder which led to the old subway station where the trains used to run through the city.

"Ok guys!" Cloud called through to his friends, "you can come through!"

One by one the group members began to crawl through the vent and joined Cloud on the other side. When it got to Angel's turn she hesitated, "do I really have to go through there?" She questioned as her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Hurry up!" Cid yelled irritably as he glared at Angel, "you're causin' a traffic jam! Now get yer ass through that vent or I'll shove my spear up your rabbit hole!" Cid threatened as he grasped his spear on his back.

"I'm going…" Angel spoke quickly as she began to crawl through the vent. "Good lord!" Angel's complaints echoed through the vents so everyone could hear it. "I'm an aristocrat…I shouldn't be crawling through vents…" Angel eventually reached the other side, "someone had better catch me!" Angel demanded as her head peeped through the vent's exit.

"Angel…there's a ladder underneath you, use it…" Drogo muttered sarcastically causing Angel to scowl at him. "Don't tell me you don't know how to climb down a ladder…"

"Of course I know how to climb down a ladder!" Angel snapped at Drogo, she turned round and began to climb down the ladder but she lost her footing and fell off the ladder. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Angel screamed as she fell.

Lance leapt up into the air and caught Angel in his arms, "gotcha!" Lance called out as he landed safely on the floor with Angel still in his arms.

"Thanks Lance," Angel whispered in Lance's ear as she kissed him on the cheek.

"What kind of a husband would I be if I didn't save you," Lance whispered back, he kissed Angel on the lips before putting her down on to the ground.

"What is the freakin' hold up?!" Cid's yells could be heard on the other side of the vent.

"It's nothing!" Lance called back to the foul mouthed pilot, "Angel fell off the ladder but she's fine!"

"Well maybe if she didn't wear that damn dress!" Cid shouted through the vent, "She wouldn't have lost her footing!"

"Excuse me!" Angel snapped her voice echoing through the vent.

"Cid just get over here!" Lance yelled through the vent, "and stop insulting my wife!"

"Fine, fine…" Cid muttered and he crawled through the vent, after a while everyone was on the other side and was walking through the subway. Four years ago the subway was filled with the sound of trains speeding through the tunnel from sector to sector, however since the destruction of Midgar the underground had fallen into disrepair. Most of the lights on the ceiling were broken while others were still working but they flickered slightly, electricity sparked from the frayed wires along the walls.

The group carried on walking with Cloud leading the way, Max walked up to Reno. "Hey Reno, just out of curiosity, what did you mean by soon to be ex girlfriend?" Max asked as he gave Reno a curious look.

"Ahhh…it hasn't really been workin' out between me and Emma lately," Reno answered as he let out a sigh. "I mean don't get me wrong, it was fun when it first started but she's become really clingy lately."

"Clingy…" Max questioned as he stared at Reno confusion etched on his face.

"She calls me every five minutes," Reno explained as he continued to walk down the tunnel. "She constantly reminds me of any dates we have planned and get this, a few days ago she asked if she could move in with me."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Max asked not taking his eyes off Reno.

"Can you imagine living with her clingy behaviour 24/7?" Reno responded as he raised his eyebrow, "trust me…it's not something I want…I mean…me and Emma, we were just a bit a fun."

"Well she obviously doesn't see it that way," Max stated as he smirked at Reno. "She's crazy about you."

Reno sighed exasperatedly, "I know…" he replied as he scratched the back of his head. "I've only been going out with her for three months and she already wants to move in with me…I'm in way over my head here, I feel like I'm not in control of this whole situation anymore."

"Well, you just need to get back in control of said situation again." Max stated.

"But how…" Reno questioned.

Max thought for a moment, "You really don't love her do you?" Max asked.

"Not in the way she wants me to," Reno answered. "Like I said, it was just a bit of fun."

"You really need to tell Emma that you don't feel the same way about her…at least, not anymore," Max told Reno straight.

"Are you nuts?!" Reno questioned in panic as he waved his arms for emphasis, "she'll kill me…"

"You're gonna have to tell her sooner or later," Max replied solemnly as he placed his hand on Reno's shoulder. "And if I were you I'd do it sooner because the longer you leave it the harder it's gonna be."

Reno thought for a moment before sighing, "You're right," Reno agreed with Max. "I've gotta tell Emma even if it means she's gonna have my head on a platter. After we finish this mission I'm gonna tell her."

"You sure…" Max questioned as he gave Reno a sceptical stare.

"Yeah," Reno replied, "I will tell her that it's over."

"Hey you two!" Cloud called out to Reno and Max, "keep up will ya!" Max and Reno nodded before running to keep up with the rest of the group. The group kept walking through the underground tunnel and stopped when they reached the tunnel which led to the sector 8 reactor. "Alright, we're gonna split off and go to the different reactors," Cloud told the group. "Max, you Pandora and Yuffie got to the sector 8 reactor."

"Ok," Max stated before turning to Pandora and Yuffie. "Let's go guys."

"Good luck," Tifa told the three before they ran down the tunnel leading to the sector 8 reactor. The rest of the group then walked down the main tunnel and carried on going until they reached another tunnel which led to the sector 7 reactor.

"Ok, Reno, Elena and Emily, you guys go to the number 7 reactor," Cloud commanded as he looked at the three.

"You got it," Reno stated in his casual manner before he, Elena and Emily ran down the tunnel leading to the sector 7 reactor. The main group continued through the tunnel and stopped and as they reached side tunnels which led to the different reactors everyone started to leave the main group to go to each reactor.

After a while it was just Zack and Aerith remaining and they arrived at the tunnel which led to the sector 1 reactor. "You ready?" Zack asked as he looked at Aerith.

"Yeah," Aerith answered as she looked back at Zack, "let's go." The two ran down the tunnel and stopped when they came across what looked like a barrier. "A dead end…" Aerith uttered as she examined the barrier.

"It's not like any barrier I've ever seen," Zack stated as he too examined the barrier. Zack and Aerith both saw that the barrier was purple and seemed to be pulsating with dark power. "Dark power…" Zack uttered, just as he said this static crackled in the headset he was wearing.

_"Zack…Zack can you hear me?" _Reeve's voice spoke through the static.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "I can hear you just fine."

_"Good," _Reeve replied, _"I'm glad to see that the headsets I gave everyone are working fine. It will enable me to keep in contact with you all."_

"We've got a problem Reeve," Zack began to explain the situation to the man on the other side of the headset. "There's a barrier down the tunnel leading to the sector 1 reactor, it looks like it's powered by some form of dark power."

_"I know," _Reeve responded, _"there are similar barriers in all eight sectors, the source of the dark power supplying the barriers is in the sector 1 reactor but be careful the security is tight in there."_

"We know Reeve," Zack told the man.

_"I'll try to guide you through as best I can," _Reeve offered.

"Thanks Reeve," Zack replied gratefully.

_"You're welcome," _Reeve replied. _"Now, do you see a ventilation shaft to your left?" _Reeve questioned, Zack and Aerith turned round and walked away from the barrier, they looked left and they saw a vent in the wall.

"Yeah we see one," Zack told Reeve, "but it's too small for a human to fit through."

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she examined the vent more closely. "We're gonna have to change our forms," Aerith stated.

"Well duh…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes, this caused Aerith to scowl at him. "Ok, ok…let's go." Aerith gave Zack a satisfied smile before they both focused their energy and they slowly shrank and began to grow fur and a tail as they turned into ferrets. Aerith turned into a chestnut brown ferret with bright green eyes while Zack turned into a jet black ferret with a tuft of spiky hair on his head and bright blue eyes. "Let's go," Zack spoke in a high pitched voice before touching his throat in shock. "I don't really sound like that do I?"

"Just hurry up Zack!" Aerith commanded in an equally high pitched voice.

"Ok," Zack uttered still in that squeaky voice and the two began to crawl through the vent. They ran through the vents as fast as they could turning left, right then left again until they eventually reached the entrance of the reactor. "We're here…" Zack uttered as he and Aerith looked around, "we're inside the reactor."

_"Be careful," _Reeve warned through Zack's now mini headset, _"the entrance to the reactor is guarded by motion detecting, heat seeking turrets."_

"Now you tell us…" Zack moaned in a high pitched voice as he folded his small arms.

"You go first," Aerith told Zack as she crawled behind him.

"No way…" Zack protested as he scowled at Aerith. "I've seen this sort of thing before, the black ferret always dies first!" (A/N, this line is a parody of the film Evolution where Ira Kane tells Harry Block to pick up the alien sample and put it in a jar to which he replies "I've seen this in a movie once the black guy dies first…" I don't own this film or this quote but it's funny.) Aerith scowled at Zack, "What?" Zack squeaked as he shrugged his small shoulders, "it's true…" Zack stated defensively as Aerith continued to scowl at him. "Alright…I'm goin'…" Zack muttered as he crawled out of the vent and crept slowly along the ground, he managed to crawl a few inches before the motion sensors on the turrets detected him and all turned to target him. "Oh shit…" Zack uttered to himself as the turrets opened fire.

Zack leapt just in time as several bullets hit the spot where Zack was a few seconds ago. Zack continued to leap and run as the turrets continued to open fire at him, "that's it!" Zack yelled in a high pitched voice, "These turrets are goin' down!" Zack quickly changed back into a human and leapt out of the way of the gunfire, Zack smirked as he summoned two giant swords out of his dimension.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Zack let out a battle cry as he charged at the first turret and swung one of his swords round cutting the turret in half. Zack performed several flips in the air as he dodged the turrets' bullets, Zack's swords charged with energy and he slammed the swords into the ground as he landed creating a double blade beam which destroyed several turrets at once. Zack's eyes looked from side to side as the last two turrets began to target him, "heh…" Zack snickered slightly as he smirked and disappeared in a flash of green light just as the turrets opened fire. Zack warped from place to place avoiding the gunfire he warped in the middle of the two turrets, Zack whistled and patted his ass causing the two turrets to target him again. "Over here!" Zack yelled, the turrets primed themselves and Zack quickly warped out of the way as the turrets fired at each other and blew up.

Zack warped back to the vent where Aerith was, "piece of cake…" Zack stated smugly as he smirked at Aerith and folded his arms.

_"Don't get too cocky Zack,"_ Reeve warned the raven haired man. _"You still have a long way to go, you must go inside the reactor I will give you more instructions once you get inside."_

"Thanks Reeve," Zack replied gratefully. "Come on Aerith," Aerith crawled out of the vent and reverted to her human form. Zack took hold of Aerith's hand and the two walked passed the destroyed turrets and entered the reactor.

"So this is what a reactor looks like on the inside…" Aerith uttered as she looked around her.

"Yeah," Zack stated, "I was hoping these planet killing machines wouldn't be rebuilt. I guess it's our job to destroy them…again."

_"Alright, you both need to go down the steps and go through the door on your right," _Reeve instructed Zack and Aerith through the headsets. _"Be careful as there are several guards patrolling the area."_

"Understood," Zack replied as he and Aerith walked down the steps and went through the door on the right. They crept down the corridor and hid round the corner just in time to see two Dark Kitsunes and two Deep Ground Soldiers patrolling the corridor.

"Guards…" Aerith whispered to Zack, "What do we do?"

"Ssssssshhhhhhhhhh…" Zack told Aerith to be quiet, "listen…" Zack and Aerith then listened out to conversation that was taking place.

"Do you think the WRO would be able to get in here?" One of the Deep Ground Soldiers asked one of his comrades.

"No way," One of the Dark Kitsunes replied. "Illusion and Hojo put various fail safes in place to make sure they can't sneak into the reactors."

"I just hope the relief guards get here soon," the other Deep Ground Soldier stated in a bored town. "Guard duty is so boring."

_"Attention all personal!"_ A voice echoed through out the intercom in the reactor, _"Two WRO agents are sneaking around the sector 1 reactor! All guards in the sector 1 reactor be on the look out for the intruders!" _

The guards then started to pace round looking for the intruders, Zack and Aerith went further back down the corridor. "They know we're here…" Aerith whispered in a slight panicky tone, "but how…"

"I think destroying the turrets might've got their attention," Zack answered as he ruffled his hair in a sheepish manner. "Probably not the smartest thing to do now that I look back at it but it was the only way we could get in here."

_"The guards are now on high alert, you have to find a way to get passed them without getting caught." _Reeve informed Zack and Aerith, _"there should be a door at the end of the corridor that the guards are patrolling but it's locked. One of the guards is holding the key to the door you must get the key without the guards noticing."_

"Alright," Zack whispered, "I got an idea of how we can get passed the guards." Zack focused his energy as his form changed and he became a Dark Kitsune with black spiky hair and wearing a guard's uniform.

Aerith stared at Zack, "I'm not sure about this…" Aerith uttered as she hesitated, "I heard from Pandora what Dark Kitsunes do to women…"

"It's the only way we can get passed them without being caught," Zack reasoned with the Cetra. "Besides I won't let them do anything to you."

"A…alright…" Aerith stammered as she focused her energy and reluctantly changed into a Dark Kitsune with long black hair tied back in a platted ponytail and wearing a very revealing outfit. Zack just stared at her, "what…" Aerith asked as she saw Zack staring at her.

"N…nothing…" Zack stammered as he shook his head to snap himself out of it, "You just…you look great…"

"Let's just get this over with…" Aerith merely stated as she started to walk forwards, "this is making me feel uncomfortable." Zack and Aerith crept back up the corridor, they just rounded the corner when the floor made a clanging sound causing all the guards to turn round and point their guns at Zack and Aerith.

"Halt who goes there?!" One of the guards yelled their fingers quivering on the triggers of their guns. Zack and Aerith stepped out of the shadows. "Oh…you're Dark Kitsunes…" the same guard uttered as he let out a huge sigh of relief. "For a second there we thought you were intruders."

"Intruders…" Zack and Aerith uttered in unison as they looked at each other before they looked at the guards, pretending to be intrigued.

"Yeah," one of the other guards replied as the guards started to lower their weapons. "We received word that two WRO agents are sneakin' around the place, they managed to get passed the security somehow."

"We can't have that," Aerith stated as she shook her head.

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "we should warn the other guards at the other reactors, there may be more of them." Aerith scowled at Zack but she quickly hid it to avoid suspicion.

"Hmmm…" one of the Dark Kitsunes thought, "that's not a bad idea, we must alert the other guards in the other reactors at once."

Zack scanned all the guards and he saw that one of the Deep Ground Soldiers had a key card connected to his belt. He started to walk over to the guard with the card key, "we'll patrol this area so you can warn the other guards," Aerith told the guards to keep their attention on her so that Zack could take the key card.

"Really…" one of the Deep Ground Soldiers spoke up as he smiled at Aerith, "wow…that would help out a lot…"

"Well, it's mine and my comrade's shift anyway," Aerith continued and she watched Zack creep closer to the guard holding the key card out of the corner of her eye. _"Please be careful Zack…" _Aerith prayed to herself as Zack reached out and carefully removed the key card from the guard's belt and gave Aerith a quick thumbs up sign before stepping away from the guard.

The guards started to leave but one of the Dark Kitsunes got closer to Aerith and placed his hand on the wall behind Aerith to stop her from moving. "Hey cutie…" the Dark Kitsune started flirting with Aerith, "what do you say we get together after this shift is over?"

"Sorry…but I'm not interested," Aerith bluntly told the Dark Kitsune.

"It wasn't a request," the Dark Kitsune stated, "It was an order." The Dark Kitsune smirked as he moved in to try and kiss Aerith, Zack growled under his breath and was about to march up to the Dark Kitsune but he stopped when he saw Aerith punch the Dark Kitsune square in the face causing him to be sent flying into the back wall. The Dark Kitsune slammed back first into the wall and slumped to the floor unconscious, the other guards heard it and ran back into the room but before they could react Aerith was behind them. She punched one of the guards in the stomach repeatedly, she used her Cetra powers to boost the speed and strength of her punches. She then punched the guard in the face causing him to fall to the floor unconscious.

One of the two remaining guards tried to punch Aerith in the face but she quickly grabbed his fist and squeezed down on the pressure points causing the guard to cry out in pain. She then elbowed him in the stomach before punching him repeatedly in the face causing a tooth to fly out of the guard's mouth, Aerith then slammed the guard's head into the wall knocking him out. The one remaining guard, a Dark Kitsune saw his comrades lying unconscious on the floor and started to run away but he tripped up and landed on the floor. His eyes grew wide with shock when his middle tail was grabbed and he suddenly felt himself being dragged along the floor. "No! Please no!" He yelled as he desperately tried to dig his claws into the floor to stop himself from being dragged backwards but the floor was made out of reinforced titanium and his claws were unable to grip the floor. The Dark Kitsune came to a stop when his rear end bumped into a pair of boot clad feet, the Dark Kitsune turned his head round and looked up to see Aerith looking down at him and smirking evilly.

Zack shielded his eyes as Aerith kicked the crap out of the Dark Kitsune, when Zack opened his eyes again he saw that the Dark Kitsune was unconscious along side his comrades and Aerith was just stood there in shock. (A/N, I decided to have Aerith fight back in this chapter. I did like Aerith when I played Final Fantasy VII but I didn't like the fact that she was physically weak so I decided to make her stronger.) "Aerith…" Zack uttered as he walked over to Aerith, "that was amazing…how did you do that…"

"I'm not sure…" Aerith answered as she looked down at her hands which were shaking, "I just…lost it…I guess those training sessions with Tifa are starting to pay off…" Aerith added as she laughed slightly.

"I'll say…" Zack uttered as he continued to stare at her. "You were awesome…and so attractive too…damn…"

Aerith scowled at Zack, "Zack there's no time for that!" Aerith scolded as reverted to her original form and clothing. "The guards could wake up any minute, we have to get out here." Aerith continued as she started to walk off.

"I know, I know…" Zack uttered a hint of disappointment in his voice as he too reverted. "I just wish you could've stayed in that form for a little while longer…" Zack continued as Aerith stopped in her tracks and turned round to scowl at Zack again. "Alright, I'm coming…" Zack stated with a sigh as he followed Aerith to the door at the end of the corridor.

"Do you have the card key?" Aerith asked as she stared hopefully at Zack.

Zack smirked as the card key appeared in his hand, "can Rufus Shinra still be trust?" Zack asked in a joking manner as he swung the card key round his fingers, Aerith just scowled at him. "Ok…that was a bad joke…" Zack admitted as he got closer to the door, "Let's just get outta here before the guards wake up." Zack saw the card key reader and swiped the card through the slot, the card key reader blipped for a few seconds before the light turned green and the door was unlocked.

Zack opened the door and he and Aerith stepped inside, "it's so dark in here…" Aerith stated before she used her Cetra powers to summon a ball of light which provided some light in the dark room.

"We should be careful," Zack added as he also summoned a ball of light to make the room lighter. He and Aerith walked down the dark corridor using the balls of light that were floating in front of them to light their path. They reached the end of the corridor and turned right, Zack was about to walk down the next one when a laser beam appeared out of nowhere a few inches near Zack's foot causing him to jump back in shock. "Whoa!" Zack cried out as he and Aerith saw many more lasers activate all along the corridor. Some were hovering horizontally while others were hovering vertically and some of the lasers were moving in random directions. "What the hell…"

_"It seems you've stumbled on a laser grid," _Reeve spoke up in the headset.

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" Zack complained into the headset.

_"For some reason, my sensors couldn't detect the laser grid," _Reeve explained. _But now I know it's there I can determine the pattern of the laser grid's movements and guide you both through it but you'll both have to listen very carefully."_

"We will," Zack promised. "I know we can regenerate but those lasers will cut us both into confetti…" Zack stated a little nervously before turning to Aerith. "I should go first."

"Are you sure?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "then you follow me afterwards."

Aerith nodded and Zack walked to the edge of the laser grid. _"Ok, the first laser is a horizontal one and will appear at your feet in five seconds." _Reeve informed the raven haired man through the headset. _"Get ready to jump over it when it appears." _Zack bent down slightly preparing to jump, when the laser appeared Zack jumped over it. _"There are now two vertical lasers moving towards you, you must jump between them when you have the chance." _Zack saw the two laser beams moving towards him and he jumped through them twisting his body to avoid getting hit by the lasers.

Reeve continued to direct Zack through the laser grid, several horizontal lasers some higher than others were moving towards Zack. Zack jumped over the first laser and quickly rolled under the second one, he continued to follow the pattern until he got passed the lasers. Two vertical lasers appeared near Zack and moved slowly from side to side, the raven haired man waited for the right moment before quickly running between the two lasers. As Zack got to the other side of the corridor he could hear a crackling sound, he turned round just in time to see a wall of horizontal lasers moving towards him at a great speed. Zack sighed for a moment before running up the wall and performing a back flip over the lasers, he landed safely on the other side and the lasers disappeared. (A/N, the laser grid part is a parody of Resident Evil 4 when Leon had to get through a corridor filled with lasers. Of course I changed the layout of it slightly, with the exception of the last part. I don't own Resident Evil, it belongs to Capcom.) "Heh…that was easy," Zack bragged as he stood on the other side of the corridor.

Aerith gulped nervously as Reeve began to guide her through the laser grid, she came across two diagonal lasers that were criss-crossing each other. Aerith waited until she spotted an opening and she quickly ran through the two lasers. Aerith quickly jumped as she spotted two horizontal lasers moving towards her and she quickly twisted her body round as two vertical lasers followed the horizontal ones. She jumped and dodged in this fashion until she safely reached the other side, she was breathing heavily. "Phew…that sure took a lot out of me…"

"I never knew you were so athletic," Zack remarked as he smirked at Aerith.

"Neither did I," Aerith admitted as she smiled back at Zack. "Maybe it's all the training I've been having or the powers from the Life Stream."

"Maybe…" Zack replied as he ruffled his hair, "we better get going, everyone's counting on us to lower the barriers.

_I'm glad you both made it through the laser grid," _Reeve stated with relief. _"I've managed to deactivate the laser grid to make the return trip easier for you both."_

"Thanks Reeve," Zack and Aerith both thanked in perfect unison.

_"You're welcome," _Reeve replied, _"now you need to go straight ahead and turn right at the corner to a door at the end of the second corridor." _Aerith and Zack ran down the corridor and quickly turned right, they ran down another corridor being careful to avoid the security cameras. They reached a door at the other side of the corridor, Aerith reached out and was about to open the door but Zack reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Wait…" Zack warned Aerith as he gently pulled her hand away from the door handle. "Reeve is there anything behind this door that we should know about? Like snake pits, laser beams, swinging pendulums, swords that drop on your head, moving spiked walls of death, spike pits…the list just goes on."

Both Aerith and Reeve laughed out loud when they heard this, "Zack…I don't think that kind of stuff would be in a reactor…" Aerith stated as she tried hard not to laugh.

"Errrr…well…there could be…" Zack stammered quickly as he scowled at Aerith and folded his arms.

_"Aerith is right Zack," _Reeve agreed with the Cetra. _"It's a recently rebuilt reactor not an ancient tomb, anyway…" _Reeve quickly changed the subject, _"that door will take you outside the reactor and into the main control centre."_

"Thanks Reeve," Zack replied gratefully and he released Aerith's hand. Aerith reached out for the door handle and opened the door. Zack and Aerith then walked through it and they ended up on a metal bridge where the ceiling and the sides were completely covered in glass.

"Wow!" Aerith exclaimed as she walked over to the side of the bridge and pressed her face against the glass and looked out at the ruins of Midgar that seemed to span across the entire area. "You can see most of Midgar from here!"

"Yeah," Zack agreed as he walked over to her. "Isn't that the Shinra building?" Zack questioned as he pointed to the ruins of a building at the far side.

"Well, what's left of it," Aerith stated as she looked at the building Zack was pointing at. Aerith continued to look around before sighing to herself as she looked at what was left of her former home. "Come on," Aerith finally said as she came away from the glass.

"Coming," Zack replied and he too came away from the glass but not before seeing a strange looking monster fly over the bridge. "Whoa!" Zack yelled as he leapt back.

"What's wrong?" Aerith asked as she turned and saw Zack.

"I thought I saw a…never mind…" Zack answered as he ruffled his hair, "let's get going, everyone else is counting on us." Aerith nodded and the two made their way across the see-through bridge and the saw a door leading into another building on the other side of the bridge. They walked up to the door and opened it before walking through.

Zack and Aerith found themselves in another corridor that was lit up by strange lamps that seemed to emit a strange purple glow. They both looked up and saw small purple coloured crystals in the ceiling, "what are those crystals?" Aerith questioned as she stared at them in awe.

"I dunno," Zack replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "But whatever they are they're not of this world. I've never seen anything like them." Aerith suddenly stepped back in fear, Zack saw this and he turned round to see Aerith stood slightly behind him her hands were clasped tightly to her chest and she had a scared expression on her face. "Aerith…what is it?" Zack asked his voice was filled with concern.

"I sense…so much dark energy…" Aerith uttered her voice shook violently as she continued to stand there in fear. "Can't you feel it?" Aerith questioned as she stared at Zack.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "but it's not really that strong."

"Maybe it's because I'm part Cetra," Aerith stated as she remained where she was. "Cetra are more receptive to this kind of thing," Aerith explained.

"Surely there wouldn't be that much dark power coming from those little crystals," Zack responded as he pointed at the crystals on the ceiling that were providing the corridor with light.

"I wouldn't be too sure Zack," Aerith warned the raven haired man. "Even a small crystal can contain a lot of power. Just look at materia, they're only small orbs yet they contain a lot of power."

"Good point," Zack agreed with Aerith. "The reason why I can't sense it as much is because I'm not a Cetra." Zack then looked back at Aerith, "you ready to continue?" He asked as he held his hand out to her.

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she answered as she walked towards Zack and took hold of his hand. "We have to do this." Aerith smiled at Zack and he smiled back, they ran down the corridor and came across a metal door with a security code on it.

_"Oh my goodness!" _Reeve suddenly yelled down the headset causing both Aerith and Zack to jump.

"What is it?" Zack questioned through the mouth piece of the headset.

_"My sensors have gone completely off the charts!" _Reeve explained in a worried tone. _"Whatever's in that next room is huge! Are you both sure you want to continue?" _

"We have no other choice," Aerith told Reeve. "We have to do this for the Planet."

_"I admire your bravery," _Reeve complimented the two. _"Alright, I'll hack the security code for the door, I just hope you're prepared for what's on the other side." _The sound of typing could be heard on the other side of the ear piece as Reeve typed away on a computer. A clicking sound could be heard as the door became unlocked.

"Thanks Reeve," Zack and Aerith both thanked the man before pushing the door open and running into the main control room. The room itself was completely dark except for a purple glow emitting from the centre of the room. The two crept further into the room and they saw a fairly large purple crystal suspended in mid air in the centre of the control room. "It's another one of those purple crystals…" Zack uttered as he and Aerith stared at it. They both closed their eyes as they could hear a faint humming coming from the crystal which slowly grew louder and the two opened their eyes again.

"The dark power in this crystal is stronger than in those crystals we saw in the previous room…" Aerith uttered as she clasped her hands close to her chest again and stared nervously at the crystal.

"Yeah…and it's strong enough for me to feel it too," Zack stated. "So this thing is responsible for those dark barriers that are blocking the entrances to the reactors."

Aerith nodded and Zack started to walk slowly towards the crystal, Aerith watched nervously for a few seconds before sensing that something was amiss. "Don't!" Aerith yelled as desperately thrust her hand forwards in an attempt to stop Zack but the raven haired man was too far away from her. As soon as he stepped into the crystal's light, he was lifted up into the air and purple electricity surged through his body.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Zack yelled in both pain and shock as the electricity continued to surge through him. Zack was then sent flying to the back of the room and he crashed into the far wall and slumped to the floor.

"Zack!" Aerith yelled as she ran up to him, she saw that he was smoking all over and his hair was even more stuck up than usual.

"Uuuuuuuhhhh…bzzzzz…that…bzzz…was a…bzzzz…shocking…bzzzz…experience…bzzz…" Zack mumbled as his body crackled with electricity between each word.

Aerith sighed as she shook her head, "do you have to come out with the electricity jokes now?" She asked in a half worried half frustrated tone.

Zack shook his head and he staggered slowly to his feet, "who's jokin'…" Zack questioned as he stared at Aerith. "That thing gave me the biggest shock of my life…" Aerith stood and scowled at Zack. "Ok…that was a bad one but you can understand where I'm coming from."

"Yes, I understand," Aerith answered with a nod. "We just need to get to it somehow."

Zack was about to respond but he was cut off by a low growling sound, "I don't think we're alone in here Aerith…" Zack uttered as he looked around for the source of the sound. The growling grew louder, so loud that it caused the room to shake. Zack and Aerith found themselves staring at the crystal again and they saw to their surprise that the crystal had turned on to its side and rose upwards as it embedded itself into something. Aerith and Zack then saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at them, they stepped back as the eyes disappeared.

"What was that?" Aerith questioned as she stared at the place where the eyes were before.

"I dunno…" Zack answered as he scratched his head, he too was puzzled at what he had seen. "Maybe we just imagined it." Zack and Aerith crept further into the room, as they did so a thick gooey substance dripped from the ceiling and landed on Zack's left shoulder. Zack looked to his left and saw the drool, "ewww…gross!" Zack yelled in shock as he quickly wiped the liquid off his shoulder.

Zack and Aerith found themselves instinctively looking up and they saw a large purple bat like monster hanging upside down on the ceiling. "Whoa!" Zack and Aerith yelled at the same time and they leapt out of the way just in time as the monster let itself drop from the ceiling and it landed perfectly on the floor. The beast glared at Aerith and Zack through its gleaming yellow eyes, the top of its head and back were covered in strange dark purple armour. Long sharp finger like projections stuck out of the folded sections of its wings and they were tapping the floor menacingly. Zack and Aerith summoned two swords from their dimensions and got into fighting stances.

With a screech the monster opened its mighty wings and flapped them causing it to hover in midair. It swooped over Zack and Aerith aiming to scoop them up with its sharp talons but they ducked just in time and the monster stopped at the other side and turned round and hovered in midair at the opposite side of the room. The monster opened its mouth and screeched as loudly as it could creating powerful ultrasound waves which zoomed through the air towards Zack and Aerith. Aerith quickly cast reflect causing the ultrasound waves to bounce back towards the monster. The monster screeched in pain as it fell to the ground and staggered round the circular room blind, deaf and confused. Zack and Aerith saw their chance and they ran up to the monster while it was incapacitated and hacked away at the armour with their swords. The monster screeched even louder and shook its head violently trying to snap at Zack and Aerith with its fangs but they simply leapt out of the way.

After a few more seconds the monster had regained its sight, hearing and senses. It flew back into the air again and slowly opened its mouth as a dark purple coloured ball formed inside its mouth and a dark purple beam fired out of it and circled round the room as it aimed for Zack and Aerith. They dodged out of the way but the beam caught Zack's arm completely disintegrating it. Zack and Aerith dodged the beam for a second time before staring at the place where Zack's arm used to be before another one grew in its place. "I love being able to regenerate," Zack stated as he looked at his newly formed arm.

The beam suddenly stopped and the monster snarled at the two as it flapped its wings a couple of times and thrust its sharp talons out in front of it, the talons turned bright green as the monster zoomed towards Zack and Aerith and its talons dug deep into their shoulders, blood trickled out of the wounds in both Zack and Aerith's shoulders as the monster lifted them up into the air and looked down at them with its greedy eyes and it brought its face closer to them. Zack and Aerith looked at each other and nodded before swinging their swords at the same time and knocking more armour off it. The monster screeched again and it released Zack and Aerith. The two fell to the floor and they looked at their wounds and saw green poison oozing from the wounds before a pale green light made the poison disappear and completely healed the wounds. (A/N, thanks to their newly acquired Life Stream abilities Zack and Aerith can regenerate and are automatically immune to even the most deadly of poisons.) "I'm so glad we're no longer affected by poisons," Aerith commented as she and Zack staggered to their feet.

The monster stared at the two in shock before it folded its giant wings into its body and quickly opened them again as it thrust purple coloured energy balls at them. Zack and Aerith looked at the balls before quickly jumping into the air. They swiped at the energy balls with their swords leaping higher and higher, as soon as they got close to the monster's head it snapped at them but they quickly dodged out of the way and landed on its back. With quick sword strikes they got rid of the final pieces of armour leaving it completely exposed. Zack and Aerith then saw the purple crystal embedded in its back, "that must be its weak point," Aerith remarked as she slashed at the crystal with her sword. Zack did the same and the monster screeched in pain as Zack and Aerith continued to hack away at the crystal. The monster struggled wildly causing both Zack and Aerith to lose their balance and fall off the monster's back.

Aerith landed on the floor below the monster while Zack landed on the floor behind it. The monster saw Aerith lay below it and it swooped down aiming to kill her with its claws. Zack also saw this and he started to run towards Aerith, "AERITH!" Zack yelled out the woman's name causing her to look up and see the monster swooping down towards her.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Aerith screamed at the top of her lungs too afraid to move.

Zack skidded to a stop in front of Aerith and he looked up at the monster glaring at it. As he did so a golden-red aura began to surround him. _"Prove your honour…" _a familiar voice echoed in Zack's head. Zack nodded as he focused his energy, he leapt into the air and launched into a punching and kicking combo on the monster's head punching and kicking it several hundred times before pushing off the monster's head to leap further into the air. Zack quickly positioned his body round so that his head was facing downwards before thrusting his fists out in front of him and spinning round rapidly as he free fell and punched the crystal on the monster's back causing it to shatter and explode on impact. Zack landed safely on the floor and watched as the monster fell to the floor dead and its entire body became crystallised before shattering into millions of pieces. (A/N, this is one of Zack's D.M.W. attacks from Crisis Core. This particular attack is called Rush Assault and can be obtained by matching three of Angeal's faces in the D.M.W. reel.)

Zack smirked at the monster's remains before running over to Aerith. "Are you ok?" Zack asked the woman his voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah…" Aerith answered as she held her head. Zack reached his hand out and helped Aerith to her feet, the two looked around and saw that the other dark crystals in the room and the previous corridor had shattered and were replaced by normal lights. "What you did before to that monster…it was amazing."

"I did it to save you," Zack answered, "it was a move I learned from my old mentor." Zack explained to Aerith.

"I see…" Aerith stated not being able to think of what to say.

"Looks like we got rid of all the dark power here," Zack stated quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah," Aerith agreed. "I wonder if the barriers have gone yet."

Zack's phone rang, he reached into his pocket and picked it up before answering it. "Hello…" Zack spoke down the phone.

_"Zack, it's me Max," _Max answered on the other side of the phone. _"You guys did it, the dark barriers blocking the entrance to the reactors are gone. We're gonna continue with the next phase of the plan."_

"Operation destroy the crap out of the reactors," Zack joked down the phone.

Max also laughed, _"Max out," _Max finally said as he calmed down before hanging up on the phone. Zack put his phone back in his pocket and he and Aerith ran out of the control room and made their way back to the reactor.

Meanwhile the remaining seven groups began to enter the reactors simultaneously, the groups entered the elevator rooms in each of the reactors and got into the elevators which took them down to the reactors themselves. The groups then ran down the stairs and entered the main reactors. Max's group looked round the building. "So green…" Max uttered as he looked around at the green coloured walls, he walked over to the barriers on the path and saw that there were several platforms below but ultimately there was no ground only a sea of green.

_"Well what did you expect?" _Reeve questioned through Max's headset. _"Midgar is just full of Mako."_

"So that's what that green stuff is…" Max stated.

"Yeah…" Yuffie muttered as she rolled her eyes. "For a superior race you sure are dumb…"

"Hey!" Max snapped as he glared at Yuffie. "I'm not dumb! I have an IQ of 350 and I invent my own stuff. In fact I come from a long line of inventors."

"Yeah, yeah…" Yuffie uttered in a bored tone. "I didn't ask for your life story let's just get this over with…this place gives me the creeps…" Max and Pandora started laughing causing Yuffie to scowl at them. "What's so funny?!" She demanded as she folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor.

"I thought you would've enjoyed a place like this, considering that this is where materia comes from," Pandora remarked as she smirked. Max also smirked before bursting out laughing again.

"Ooooooooooohhhhhhh!" Yuffie moaned as she stamped her foot on the floor. "You're both mean…" Yuffie sulked as she continued to scowl at Max and Pandora.

"Let's just go," Max stated abruptly quickly changing the subject and the three walked along the path and climbed down the ladder to the next level.

Meanwhile in reactor seven Reno's group were climbing down the ladder to the next level. Reno and Emily were already at the bottom and were waiting for Elena to climb down. Eventually she reached the bottom of the ladder, she was about to jump off the last step but her foot got caught and she ended up falling off the ladder but Reno quickly caught her in his arms. "Careful…" he warned her as Elena looked up at him. "You're still as clumsy as ever…"

"And you're still a joker," Elena retorted as she gave Reno an amused smile.

"Yeah I sort of left myself open to that one," Reno admitted. "But I can take my job seriously."

"Just try not to take it too seriously," Elena stated as she waved a warning finger at him.

"Hey I don't wanna end up like Tseng," Reno replied as he grinned at Elena. "A boring old git who has no life outside of work…" Elena scowled at him, "it's true though…" Reno stated in a defensive tone, "when was the last time Tseng had a social life?"

"I know…" Elena responded as she laughed at Reno's defensiveness.

Emily whistled to get the two Turks' attention, "come on guys, we have a job to do." She told them, Reno and Elena looked at each other before Reno released Emily and they were soon on their way.

The eight groups travelled further into the reactors and climbed down several more ladders to get to the lowest level. The groups crossed the bridge which led to the self destruct devices in each reactor. "I sense something…" Max uttered as his group got closer to the self destruct device.

"Be on your guard," Cloud warned through his headset, the eight groups moved more cautiously.

_"That's as far as you go!" _Evil voices spoke to all of the groups at the same time as purple coloured crystals appeared in front of the eight groups and materialised into strange looking purple monsters wearing purple coloured armour with the purple crystals embedded in their backs. Some of the monsters were stood on two legs while other were stood on for or more legs, they all had gleaming yellow eyes and were advancing towards the groups.

"What is that thing?!" Yuffie yelled as each of the groups took a few steps backwards as the crystal monsters advanced on them.

"Humph…more monsters to contend with," Vincent spoke indifferently down the headset as he readied his gun.

"I predict that there will be an 85 chance that we'll all die," Isis estimated a little pessimistically as two machine guns materialised in her hands.

"Isis you're not helping!" Drogo yelled down his headset as he readied his katanas.

"I don't like those odds," Barret uttered, "and I'm not a betting man…"

"You're such a liar Barret," Tifa admonished down the headset.

"Shit!" Cid yelled as he felt around his pockets, "where's my cigarettes when I need 'em?!" Cid asked desperately causing Angel to scowl at him.

"We're staring death in the face and all you can think about are your damn cigarettes!" Angel yelled at the pilot. "Well if you do manage to find them you can shove them up your arse!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard Angel yell that, "did she just…" Reno questioned as he cleaned out his ears to make sure he heard it correctly.

"Yeah…" Lance answered as he spun his spear round.

Drogo laughed, "So miss etiquette has a potty mouth…" he stated in an amused tone as Lance scowled at him. "What…" Drogo questioned as he shrugged his shoulders, "it was bound to happen one day."

"Guys…can we just defeat these things before they decide to kill us and eat us!?" Cloud yelled down the headset.

"Guys, me and Aerith have seen this kind of monster before," Zack informed the group through the headset. "We saw one in the control room, it was the monster that was responsible for the barriers that were blocking our way."

"And now these guys are guarding the self destruct devices," Nightshade stated as he rested his sword on his shoulder.

"So our goal is clear, defeat these monsters to get to the self destruct devices." Max stated as he held his sword out in front of him. With a cry Max charged towards the monster and Pandora and Yuffie followed, everyone charged at the monsters at the same time. The monster that was fighting Max's group materialised a crystal sword in its hand and swung it round aiming to attack the group but Max leapt forwards and parried the attack with his own sword just in time. Sparks flew as the two swords smashed against each other with a metallic clang, Yuffie and Pandora the jumped towards the monster which summoned another crystal sword in its hand and parried their attacks.

In reactor seven Reno, Elena and Emily were fighting against a crystal monster that was in the shape of a human but had dragon features such as wings and a tail and was wielding a giant spear. The spear monster spun round in a circle swinging its spear round. Reno, Elena and Emily dodged this attack and Emily quickly swung her dual wheeler round like the blades of a windmill catching the spear and causing the monster to stop spinning. Elena saw her chance and fired at the monster with her hand gun. The bullets ricocheted off the monster's armour. The monster roared and turned its attention to Elena, Reno ran towards the monster and leapt on to its back he held his nightstick in the air which crackled with electricity before Reno stabbed it into the monster's armour. The monster roared in pain and shook wildly as pieces of armour became loose.

"Whoa!" Reno yelled as he grabbed on to the horns at the back of the monster's helmet, holding on for dear life as the monster continued to shake. Eventually the monster threw Reno off its back and he went flying back first into a wall.

"Reno!" Elena yelled as she took a piece of materia out of her pocket and put it in her gun, Elena then pointed the gun at the monster and opened fire. Bullets encased in ice were shot out of the handgun and shattered on the monster's armour upon impact causing more armour to fall away. The monster roared in pain before leaping into the air. Elena ran over to Reno and helped him, "are ok?" She asked as she helped Reno to his feet.

"Yeah…" Reno muttered as he saw Elena and smiled at her. "I am now." His smile soon faded when he spotted a shadow over them. "Look out!" He yelled but Emily was already in front of them and swung her dual wheeler round blocking the monster's attack and knocking it off balance. The monster opened its wings and hovered in the air before spinning its spear round creating a massive tornado trapping Reno, Elena and Emily inside it.

In all the other reactors the groups were fighting off various crystal monsters which were in various shapes, sizes and wielded various weapons. Vincent's group fought against a large crystal monster with multiple arms. Vincent and Isis ran towards the monster while Sunny stayed back and shot arrows at the monster, the monster roared as it slammed its hands on the ground. Vincent and Isis leapt into the air to avoid the monster's hands. As the monster slammed its hands into the ground again Vincent and Isis leapt on to the arms on opposite sides of the monster and ran up the arms to its shoulders. The monster tried to bat them both off it with its other arms but Vincent and Isis easily dodged them and leapt a final time, they flipped in midair and pointed their guns at the monster and opened fire. The monster screeched in pain and staggered round as bullets were pumped into it creating dents in the armour causing pieces of it to fall off. Sunny saw her chance and ran at the monster she took another arrow out of her quiver and put it in her bow as she ran. Spikes formed in the monster's arm and it swept its arm in a horizontal motion causing the spikes to spring out of the arm and aim at Sunny. Sunny easily dodged the spikes and pointed her bow at the monster's helmet. She then released the arrow and it impaled into the monster's helmet, Sunny then rolled out of the way and took out three arrows and put them in her bow. She shot all three at the helmet knocking it off. Vincent and Isis fired more bullets at the monster and the shoulder pads were removed.

The monster roared and swiped its arms upwards knocking Isis and Vincent out of the air, they managed to flip themselves again before landing on their feet. The eight groups put up a valiant effort and were able to remove the armour of all eight of the monsters revealing purple crystal cores embedded in their backs, heads, or arms. "Is that crystal the core?" Tifa questioned as she stared at the crystal lodged in the monster's forehead.

"Yes," Aerith spoke into her headset so that everyone could hear her. "The crystals are the monsters' weak points, we have to attack the crystals until they shatter."

"Sounds easy enough," Cloud stated as he swung his sword round.

"Easier said than done," Zack warned him through the headset. "You have to actually get to the crystals."

"Let's just end this damn freak show!" Barret yelled down his headset as he readied his gun arm. The eight monsters realised that they were now open to attack and lunged themselves at the groups. But the eight groups had already powered up their weapons and themselves ready to perform their special moves. Everyone glowed brightly with energy.

"Everyone attack…NOW!" Cloud commanded down his headset and the monsters were hit with Blade Beam, Satellite Beam, Apocalypse, Elemental Attacks, Psychic Wave and a wide variety of physical and magical attacks spontaneously. The monster roared and screeched in pain as they were unable to move. The crystals were continuously being pelted by the attacks until they all shattered unable to withstand the onslaught any longer. The eight monsters let out high pitched, blood curdling screeches as they were lifted up into the air, the monsters roared as their bodies slowly turned to crystal and shattered into millions of pieces.

The groups stared at the shattered pieces of crystal before they disappeared, Reno rested his nightstick on his shoulder. "That was a shattering experience…" he uttered.

"You're even worse than Drogo sometimes…" Emily stated with an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes, "and he tells some bad jokes."

"Well excuse me for having a sense of humour…" Reno responded irritably as he scowled at Emily. "Would you rather I was a miserable git like Tseng?" Elena scowled at Reno, "I was just kidding..." Reno added quickly, "man you two need a sense of humour." Reno walked towards the self destruct button, Max, Vincent, Drogo, Cloud, Rude, Angel and Zack did the same in the other reactors and they all pushed the self destruct buttons at the same time.

_"Self destruct sequence has been activated!" _A synthetic female voice echoed through the intercoms in the reactors. _"All employees have ten minutes to evacuate, repeat, all employees have ten minutes to evacuate!" _

"Brings back so many memories…" Cloud muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"The reactor's gonna blow!" Cait Sith yelled as he ran round in circles in panic.

Lance and Drogo stared at each other before sighing, "He's worse than Yuffie…" Lance stated as he pointed at Cait Sith.

"Yeah…" Drogo agreed, "for once I agree with you."

Lance and Drogo turned round and made a run for it, "hey! Wait for me!" Cait Sith yelled as he tried to run after them but he was unable to keep up. Lance and Drogo ran up the steps and slid under the door just in time as it slammed shut leaving Cait Sith trapped inside the reactor.

The other groups quickly made their way out of the reactors dodging turrets that came out the walls and opened fire in a desperate attempt to stop the groups from escaping and sliding under doors that were slamming shut. The groups eventually managed to get out of the reactors and ran up the stairs leading to the elevators. The groups got into the elevators and listened to the annoyingly catchy lift music, "WE'RE IN A HURRY HERE!" Max yelled at the speaker in the elevator. "WE DON'T NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS SHIT!" The elevators made a dinging sound as they reached the top floor, the doors opened and smoke emitted from the elevator in reactor eight as Max launched a fireball at the speaker in frustration. The groups quickly ran through the remaining corridors and ran along the bridges leaving the reactors and got to safety just as all eight reactors blew up at the same time.

"Was it wise of us to leave Cait Sith in the reactor?" Lance asked as he gave Drogo a questioning look.

Drogo was about to respond when the burnt remains of Cait Sith's head landed on the ground near their feet. Drogo picked the head up and saw that the fur was completely burnt off on one side leaving the metal frame exposed and one of the eyes was hanging out. "He was a good friend, noble courageous…" Drogo stated mockingly as he gave a fake eulogy.

"Brave…" Lance uttered as he repeated one of Drogo's words.

"Hell no!" Drogo yelled as he laughed loudly, "he was a bloody coward, I just hope Illusion will quit while she's ahead," Drogo added in a half joking manner as he causally threw Cait Sith's burnt head over his shoulder.

"You really need to stop those bad jokes…" Lance uttered as he gave Drogo a dig in the arm. "They're not funny."

"Yeah, yeah…" Drogo muttered, "come on we gotta meet the others at sector eight." Drogo and Lance ran away from the blown up reactor and made their way to sector eight where everyone else was waiting for them.

"Took your damn time!" Cid yelled at the two.

"Where's Cait Sith?" Tifa asked as she searched for the cybernetic cat.

"He remained behind," Drogo told a half truth. "Nobly sacrificing himself to save me and Lance,"

"Really…" Zack asked eagerly.

"Not really…" Drogo stated, "We left him behind on purpose."

"You know, Reeve's really gonna kill you two," Reno told Lance and Drogo as he folded his arms and gave them an amusing smile.

"Come on, Reeve probably like mass produces Cait Sith," Drogo replied as he stared at the Turk. "I mean what version was that one?"

"Version six if I remember correctly," Tifa answered. "To be honest we've all lost count."

"Look, the Life Stream!" Aerith yelled suddenly and she pointed upwards, everyone looked up and saw the purple corrupted Life Stream float up to the sky and joined up with the pure Life Stream.

"Wow…if it didn't look so eerie looking I'd say it looked beautiful," Pandora remarked.

"I guess all that's left to do for this mission is to purify the Life Stream," Nightshade stated as removed his shades to clean them.

"Errr…I'm afraid it's not that simple," Aerith spoke up causing everyone to stare at her in shock.

"What do you mean it's not that simple?!" Yuffie questioned irritably.

"We can't purify the Life Stream here," Aerith answered. "There's too much corruption."

"Illusion…" Max asked.

Aerith shook her head, "there has been corruption in Midgar long before Illusion showed up."

"Damn Shinra!" Barret yelled as he thrust his de transformed metallic hand into the air. "They were never satisfied, destroyin' our planet to line their damn pockets with gold!"

"Not this again Barret…" Tifa uttered as she rolled her eyes. "Rufus has seen the error of his ways, and it's about time you remembered that."

"But Tifa…" Barret started to protest.

"Can we just hear what Aerith has to say?" Max asked slightly irritably as he scowled at Barret and Tifa, Barret fell silent. "Go ahead Aerith," Max continued as he turned his attention back to Aerith.

"My point is, we have to go to a place that's pure," Aerith started to explain. "A place that's full of energy a place that has a strong connection to the Cetra."

"The Forgotten City…" Avalanche and the Turks stated at the same time.

"The Forgotten what?" Pandora questioned as she and the rest of her friends gave Avalanche and the Turks confused looks.

"It's a godforsaken ruin on the Northern Continent!" Cid answered as he gave Pandora and amused smile. "That's all you need to know."

Aerith scowled at him, "do you mind?" Aerith asked the pilot in an annoyed tone as she walked up to him and jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. "The Forgotten City is the one place that's left that belonged to my people!" Aerith yelled, "So please show some more respect."

Everyone just stared at Aerith in shock at her newfound confidence, "wow…go Aerith!" Zack yelled as he walked over to Aerith and wrapped his arms round her neck. "You're hot when you're angry you know that…" Zack stated flirtatiously.

"We don't have time for that Zack," Aerith admonished the raven haired man as she removed his arms from her neck. "The fate of the world is in our hands," Aerith reminded him as she walked off.

"The fate of the world is always in our hands…." Zack complained as he followed Aerith.

Cid took out his phone and dialled a number, "this is Cid here, land the Sierra on the outskirts of Midgar!" He commanded.

"Rodger that!" One of the co-pilots on the Sierra answered, "We're just approaching the city limits now."

"Good," Cid stated and he hung up on the phone. "Come on, the Sierra's gonna be waitin' for us." The group followed Cid out of sector eight and they made their way towards the outer slums and eventually left the ruined city just in time as the Sierra landed. Two crew members were stood on the deck and lowered a rope ladder so that the group could get on board. When everyone was on board the crew members pulled the rope ladder back up and the Sierra quickly took off. The group then went inside the ship and went their separate ways as they did their own thing. Cid entered the bridge and resumed command of the Sierra.

"Are we headin' back to base?" One of the co-pilots asked Cid.

"No," Cid answered as he was stood at the controls. "We're headin' to the Forgotten City."

"But captain…" The co-pilot started to speak up.

"I said we're goin to the Forgotten City!" Cid interrupted as he scowled at the co-pilot. "There's somethin' important that we've gotta do there, oh and if you question my orders again I'll skin ya alive ya hear me?!"

"Yes captain…" the pilot answered nervously, "we'll set a course for the Forgotten City…"

Cid grinned, "That's more like it!" Cid yelled happily as he pushed a button on the new control panel that Max put in. "I love this upgrade," Cid stated with a smirk as he reached down and opened up a secret compartment underneath the control panel and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He opened the pack up took a cigarette out and put it in his mouth. He then took a spare lighter out of the compartment and lit the cigarette up. However as soon as Cid lit it, a water faucet came out of the ceiling and sprayed a small jet of water on to the cigarette putting it out. "What the hell…" Cid cursed as he looked up at the faucet then down at the soaked cigarette and back up at the faucet again.

"I'm sorry Cid but this is a non-smoking flight," Shera two informed him.

"I suppose Max installed that faucet as a joke!" Cid yelled irritably as he threw the soaked cigarette on to the floor.

"Actually Shera installed the faucet herself," the A.I. answered. "She also programmed it to come out and spray water every time you lit up."

"So this is part of Shera's campaign to get me to quit smokin'…" Cid questioned in annoyance.

"That's correct," Shera two replied calmly. "But it's for your own good."

"Shit!" Cid cursed, "I'll smoke whenever I want!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow that Cid," Shera two stated. "And I will inform Shera about your secret stash of cigarettes."

Cid sighed, "Fine…I'll quit if it'll get everyone off my back!"

"Glad to hear it," Shera two responded happily.

"I wanna get to the Forgotten City in double time," Cid told the A.I. "So divert some of the powers to the thrusters."

"Very well," the A.I. responded, "power is being diverted to the thrusters."

"Thanks," Cid replied gratefully as he pushed the ignition button and large blue flames shot out of the thrusters launching the Sierra forwards. The Sierra took off and made its way to the Northern Continent, as the Sierra passed the Midgar overlook several cloaked figures were stood on the tallest hill watching the airship as it flew passed. Red eyes gleamed from under the hoods and mouths were twisted into evil grins before the cloaked figures disappeared in a flash of purple light.

It was approaching nightfall by the time the Sierra landed near the ruins of the Forgotten City, the group walked on to the deck of the Sierra and two crew members lowered the rope ladder so the group could get down to the ground. The group climbed down the rope ladder as soon as everyone was on the ground they made their way to the entrance of the city, as soon as they entered Max and his friends stared at the entire area and saw that it was nothing more than a few giant shells that were broken in some places and a few sparsely placed trees and other strange looking plant life. "This is the Forgotten City..." Drogo uttered as he stared at one of the broken shells, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"I have to be honest..." Sunny added as she looked to her left and saw a strange looking tree. "I was expecting something a little more..."

"This place is a dump..." Drogo cut in causing both Sunny and Aerith to scowl at him.

"This place is merely a facade," Aerith replied not taking her eyes off Drogo. "To stop any intruders from finding the real city."

"So where is the real city?" Angel asked as she gave Aerith a curious stare.

"You'll see," Aerith answered as she turned round and started to walk off, everyone else started to follow her.

Max was about to follow but he stopped as he could hear murmurs, he closed his eyes and pricked his ears up so he could hear the voices more clearly. "The voices of the planet..." Max whispered to himself.

_"The aura of the Cetra is strong here," _Aurora spoke in Max's head. _"That means that the voices of the Planet can be heard more clearly. Also your magic will be greatly affected here."_

"Affected in what way?" Max asked his mother's spirit.

_"You'll find out soon enough," _she answered, _"when you reach the real city of the Ancients."_

"I see..." Max replied, "There's a lot of magic in the air here. It'll only be a matter time before Illusion finds out that the reactors were destroyed. We have to find the City of the Ancients quickly and re-purify the Life Stream." Max opened his eyes and he saw Nightshade stood next to him with his eyes closed, "you feel it too, don't you?" Max questioned causing the older Kitsune to open his eyes.

"Yes," Nightshade answered without looking at Max. "There's a lot of magic here, the Cetra must've been magical by nature but...there's something else as well...something not quite right..."

"I know," Max replied as he looked around him. "I sense it too...I sense a lot of death..." Max and Nightshade looked around them again. "We better catch up with the others." Nightshade nodded and they ran to keep up with the others. The group walked down a path and entered a small forest, as they left the forest they came across a lone shell and a lake. As the group walked closer to the lake to make their way to the giant shell Max stopped and turned to the lake, he walked closer to the lake and looked into it. As he looked deep into the water he saw Aerith's body lying at the bottom of the lake lifeless there was a stab wound in her chest and her long hair was flowing behind her. _"Huh..." _Max thought to himself as he quickly looked away, but when he looked back he saw that Aerith's body had gone. Max shook his head, _"did I see what I thought I saw?" _Max questioned in his head as he looked up and saw Aerith walking with the others. _"Did I just see Aerith's death? Was it a vision of the past or was it a vision of what's to come?" _

"Hey Max!" Pandora called out to him, "you coming?!"

"Errr yeah..." Max answered as he shook his head a final time before running to catch up with the others as soon as he got there Pandora turned to look at him.

"Are you ok?" She asked as she gave him a concerned look. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I thought I saw...never mind." Max finally said, "We've got more important things to worry about."

"You're right," Pandora agreed. "Come on, we should get going." Pandora took hold of Max's hand and the two followed everyone else. The group entered the giant shell and in the centre of the shell they saw a crystal staircase leading down.

"Crystal staircase that leads down..." Isis uttered as she gave the stairs a questioning look. "There is nothing down there it's completely illogical."

"Isis, everything's illogical according to you." Drogo told her as he walked passed her. "Just because it doesn't seem logical doesn't mean that it's not real or it doesn't work."

"We have to go down the stairs," Aerith informed the group as she stepped on to the first step. "It leads us to the City of the Ancients." Aerith walked down the stair case and the rest of the group followed. As Max walked about half way down the stairs a bluish-white aura surrounded him and his fur colour changed from green to whitish-blue and the pupils and irises disappeared. Two large white feathered wings grew out of Max's back and arched round almost hitting Reno in the face.

"Hey!" Reno yelled at Max as he pushed the wings away. "Watch where you're puttin' those things!"

"I can't control where my wings go when I first transform," Max replied without turning to face Reno.

"Wait…" Reno uttered as he realised that Max didn't normally have wings. "Since when did you have wings?"

"I don't normally," Max answered as he continued to walk down the stairs. "This is my light form."

"Light form…" Reno questioned.

"It's a long story," Max stated. "I don't really want to go into it at the moment."

"And you chose to transform on the stairs with me right behind you…" Reno uttered angrily as he glared at the back of Max's head.

"I didn't choose to transform," Max retorted as he turned his head round to look at Reno. "I was forced into this form, there's something about this place that's affecting me…yet I'm not a Cetra."

"Well don't try and explain it to me…" Reno stated.

Max smirked at Reno, "Don't worry, when I do get round to explaining it I'll explain it in laymen's terms so you can understand it."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?!" Reno demanded as he continued to glare at Max.

"Reno!" Elena yelled from behind the red headed Turk. "Just get moving!"

"But Elena…" Reno started to protest but Elena scowled at him.

"JUST MOVE IT!" Elena yelled at the top of her lungs causing Reno to jump back suddenly.

"Yes mam!" Reno yelled in fright as he saluted, Elena scowled at Reno again and he quickly turned round. Max chuckled to himself before he turned round and started to walk down the stairs again.

As the group continued to walk down the crystal staircase Max looked around and he saw a crystalline city below him. "Wow…" Max uttered in awe, "This place is amazing…"

_"This place is the City of the Ancients," _Aurora informed Max. _"There is a Holy aura through out the entire city."_

"So that explains why I'm in my light form," Max stated as he continued to walk down the stairs. "Does that mean my magic is affected too?"

_"Yes," _Aurora answered, _"this is a sacred place, your magic will be extremely strong here."_

"I guessed as much," Max replied. "I just hope Illusion doesn't find this place." The group continued to walk down the staircase which seemed to twist and disappear into the roof of one of the buildings. The group eventually reached the bottom of the staircase and walked out of the building to find themselves in a street.

"This place is so beautiful," Pandora stated as she looked round at the futuristic looking buildings and the lampposts which seemed to emit a strange glow.

"Yeah," Max stated in agreement. "The Cetra must've been an advanced race." The group walked down the street and entered the city centre. The group saw Aerith and Zack stood at the edge of a large lake.

"Zack! Aerith!" Cloud called out to his friends as the group ran up to them. "There you are, you got slightly ahead of us."

"What are you both looking at?" Angel asked.

"We're looking at the altar in the centre of the lake," Zack answered without looking at the group. The group also looked at the centre of the lake and saw a very ornate altar there, plus several pillars in the lake which led to the main area.

Aerith was staring at the altar, her eyes were wide and her body was shaking slightly. "Aerith…" Tifa called out her friend's name. "Are you ok?"

Aerith said nothing, she closed her eyes as memories of her death flooded her mind. "What's wrong?" Pandora questioned as she stared at Aerith.

"I think I know," Max replied as he walked up to Aerith. He placed his hand on her forehead and focused, Max winced as he saw Sephiroth jumping down from a great height and running Aerith through with his sword. Max also saw the White Materia falling out of Aerith's hair and landing in the lake. He then saw Cloud putting Aerith's body in the lake outside the giant shell and he watched as Aerith's body sunk to the bottom. Max eventually pulled himself out of Aerith's mind and removed his hand from his forehead. "When I saw a vision of Aerith's body in the lake, it was just a memory…it had already happened…" Max stated but he couldn't help but feel confused. "But…I wasn't even there when it happened…I didn't witness the event…so why was it I could see Aerith's body in the lake?"

_"People aren't the only ones who have memories," _Aurora answered. _"Places and objects also have memories, this place must've remembered Aerith's death and you were able to tap into the memories."_

"I get it, it's because I'm psychic and I can tap into anything." Max stated as he nodded, "I think I understand now." Aerith opened her eyes and saw Max stood opposite her. "Are you ok?" Max asked.

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she answered as she smiled. "It's just being in this place that's all."

"It just brought it all back," Max replied.

"How did you know?" Aerith asked as she gave Max a questioning stare.

"I saw into your memories," Max confessed as his ears drooped slightly. "I saw everything that happened to you, I also saw your body in the lake before we came here. I wasn't sure what it was at first but…"

"You were able to tap into the lake's memory," Aerith finished Max's sentence for him.

"Yeah," Max answered, "but how did you know about that?"

"This place was home to the Cetra," Aerith answered, "their magic and memories are still here even though they're long gone. Those who are highly tuned to the voices of the Planet can see the memories here."

"Like me and my father," Max stated. "So, what now?"

"I have to get to the altar to purify the Life Stream," Aerith answered.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Cloud asked as he gave Aerith a concerned look.

"I'll be ok," Aerith answered as she looked at Cloud and smiled at him. "That's all in the past, besides, Zack'll be with me."

Zack nodded before he realised what Aerith had said, "I will…" he questioned as he gave Aerith a blank stare.

"Of course," Aerith answered as she smiled at him. "The purification spell requires two people and you're the only other one who can do it with me."

"Why me?" Zack enquired as he continued to stare blankly at Aerith.

"Because the spell can only be performed by Cetra and those that have become one with the Lifestream," Aerith answered as her smile faded.

"Oh yeah…" Zack replied as he suddenly remembered. "I know which spell you mean now," he turned to Cloud and the others. "The spell will require all of our concentration so you guys will have to protect us from any enemies that might show up."

"Don't worry," Cloud replied as he smiled at Zack. "We've got your backs," Cloud promised as he placed his hand on Zack's shoulder.

Max closed his glowing white eyes before opening them again, "you better hurry and get to the pillar." Max warned the two as he turned his back to them and summoned two glowing swords in his hands that were identical to each other. (A/N, in Light Form Max wields two swords instead of one.) "Dark forces draw near."

Zack and Aerith looked at each other and nodded before jumping on to the first pillar and leaping from pillar to pillar until they reached the altar at the centre. They walked to the centre of it and knelt down holding each other's hands as they did so staring into each other's eyes before closing them and lowering their heads. Zack and Aerith's lips moved in perfect unison as they muttered a prayer under their breaths. (A/N, they are speaking in Cetra while they are muttering the chant. Due to Zack's prolonged period in the Lifestream Zack knows how to speak Cetra.) As the two continued to pray the corrupted Lifestream started to surround them and glowed as it slowly started to become pure again.

The rest of the group readied their weapons and started to patrol the area round the altar to look out for any enemies. Max stayed near the pillars which led to the altar keeping his eyes open and his ears pricked as he watched and listened for any sign of an enemy. Max could sense that something was amiss and he quickly spun his right hand sword behind him. Max looked round slightly and saw a strange blue skinned creature with glowing red eyes stood behind him. The creature was staring at Max in shock before its head fell clean off and its body fell to the floor lifeless. "Don't try to sneak up on me, you never know what I might do," Max stated with a smirk as he stepped over the headless body only to be greeted by more of the strange creatures. "Great…more of them…" Max uttered as he shrugged his shoulders while spinning his two swords. "You're funeral…" Max stated with a hint of amusement in his voice before he charged at the newcomers.

Isis and Vincent were stood back to back as they were surrounded by the creatures. They tried to shoot at the creatures but the creatures kept teleporting. "Well…this is getting annoying…" Isis stated a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I thought you never showed your emotions," Vincent commented as he turned his head slightly.

"I don't," Isis replied indifferently as she spun her gun round in her hand before shooting at one of the creatures that was unlucky enough to teleport into her line of fire. "Besides, you're one to talk, you're even more miserable than I am."

"Humph…" Vincent grunted and he and Isis leapt out of the way as a giant nova spell was fired at them. When they landed they saw that the creatures had mutated even further and grew extremely dark purple fur over their bodies and sharp claws sprang out of their fingers. "These must be the drones that Illusion created using Max's DNA," Vincent remarked as he was wrestled to the ground by one of the mutated creatures. It snarled at him and scratched him with its viciously sharp claws focusing various elements with each claw swipe, Vincent merely grunted before calmly throwing the creature off the creature landed only to have several bullets pumped into it. The creature screeched in pain as it eventually collapsed to the floor dead with countless bullet holes in its body and head.

Vincent looked up and saw Isis stood over the creature's body smirking as she held a shotgun in her hand. "And I thought you were an expert gunslinger," she stated in a mocking manner.

"I guess I'm nothing compared to you," Vincent responded as he sat up.

"No retort, no witty remarks…" Isis enquired as she gave Vincent a questioning look.

"We have more important things to worry about," Vincent stated as Isis reached out and helped Vincent up. Isis and Vincent smirked at each other before grabbing each other's hands and spinning themselves round in a circle and opening fire at the creatures. The creatures fell to the floor dead as Vincent and Isis stopped spinning, they spun their guns round above their heads and smirked at each other again.

Tifa dodged one of the creature's spells before elbowing one in the gut, and grabbing it and throwing it into more creatures knocking them all off their feet. Cloud then leapt overhead and slammed his sword into the ground causing seismic waves to emit from the sword and smash into the creatures killing them. The group continued to fight against the creatures as Zack and Aerith continued to purify the Lifestream. "Where are these things coming from?" Max questioned as one of the creatures used its telekinesis to pick Max up and throw him into one of the buildings. Max was sat in a room dazed for a few seconds before running through the Max shaped hole in the wall. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Max yelled as he ran towards the creatures holding his two swords behind him causing a trail of sparks to fly behind him as he ran. As he got close to the creature he swung his swords round striking the creature across the stomach cutting it cleanly in half. Max smirked as the creature died a painful death.

Max and the others looked around and saw that there were no creatures left. "Thank goodness that's over," Angel stated as she let out a sigh of relief. "My dress was almost ripped in that battle."

"Next time wear pants," Drogo suggested with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Or better yet wear a miniskirt, it won't get ripped and it's very easy on the eyes." Angel, Lance and Sunny glared at him, "what?" He questioned as he stared at the three. "It's true, I mean look at Tifa, she's deadly and she's easy on the eyes."

"Keep digging Drogo," Lance warned his friend as he pointed his spear at Drogo's throat. "You'll soon find yourself trapped."

"Lance you're forgetting, I'm the ex King of Thieves!" Drogo bragged as he moved Lance's spear away from his throat. "I can get myself out of any hole I dig myself into, no matter how deep it is."

Lance was about to respond but Tifa stopped him, "look, there's no more creatures. Does that mean it's over?"

Max closed his eyes as he could sense another presence, "no, this is far from over," Max answered as he opened his eyes again and looked at the group. "There's someone else here."

"I don't like the sound of that," Cloud spoke up as he tightly clasped his sword.

"You don't like the sound of anythin'," Barret spoke up. "I don't know who's a bigger miserable git, you or Vincent!"

"Barret!" Tifa yelled as she glared at Barret. Barret merely shrugged, Tifa sighed and she turned to look at the altar. "I think Zack and Aerith are close to finishing."

"I bloody hope so!" Cid yelled irritably as he too looked at the altar. "They sit there prayin' to the damn Planet and we're the ones that risk our lives protectin' 'em!"

The rest of the group scowled at Cid but they said nothing and looked at the altar to see that Zack and Aerith had stopped praying as the last bit of Lifestream changed back to green. Zack and Aerith both smiled and opened their eyes both unaware of the impending danger they were in. Max closed his eyes again as the evil presence he could sense grew stronger and Max opened his eyes again and looked up his eyes were wide with shock as he saw Sephiroth and Kadaj leap from the ceiling of the city with their swords pointing downwards as they fell aiming to impale Zack and Aerith on their swords. Max tried to yell a warning to Zack and Aerith but his voice wouldn't work and the two continued to remain unaware of their impending doom. Max and the others all covered their eyes not being able to watch the scene that was about to unfold.

The group could hear two metallic clangs and opened their eyes to see Zack and Aerith both stood up and Sephiroth and Kadaj were still in the air their eyes were wide with shock as Zack and Aerith's swords were stabbed deep in their stomachs. Sephiroth stared at Aerith in shock, "not this time," Aerith whispered to Sephiroth as she forced the sword further into Sephiroth's stomach causing him to cough up specks of blood. (**A/N, the sword Aerith has stabbed Sephiroth with is a replica of the Masumame that she created forged from her dimension.**) Kadaj and Sephiroth moaned in pain as Aerith and Zack removed the swords causing the two to fall to the floor.

"So…the bitch in pink has finally grown some fangs…" Sephiroth whispered as he looked up at Aerith his eyes glazed in pain.

"I never make the same mistake twice," Aerith stated as she smirked evilly at Sephiroth. "Besides, the Lifestream has made me stronger."

"Ironic isn't it? How you meet the same end that Aerith did all those years ago." Zack questioned he too was grinning at both Sephiroth and Kadaj.

"It…doesn't matter…how many times you kill us…" Sephiroth spoke still in that weak voice. "Illusion will…bring us back…"

"We'll be back to play…soon enough…" Kadaj added.

"Well you won't be able to be brought back without a necromancer," Zack stated. "And we intend to put an end to Illusion." Sephiroth and Kadaj continued to stare at Zack and Aerith before dying and turning into a severed hand and a skull. Zack and Aerith picked up the skull and the severed hand and dropped them into the lake. Zack and Aerith then left the altar leaping from pillar to pillar and landed back on the main area next to the group.

"That was…amazing…" Max uttered in shock after finally finding his voice.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed. "I didn't think you guys had it in you."

"Well I learned that if I was to survive that I'd have to stand up for myself," Aerith answered. "I don't really condone violence but in some circumstances it's necessary."

"I couldn't agree more," Zack stated agreeing whole heartedly with Aerith. "I taught you well."

"I was the one that taught Aerith that her hands could double as weapons," Tifa spoke up as she glared irritably at Zack. Zack and Tifa continued to argue and Reno's phone rang, Reno reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out.

"Reno here," Reno spoke into his phone.

_"Reno, it's Rufus." _Rufus answered on the other side of the phone. _"How was the mission?"_

"The mission was a complete success," Reno explained happily. "We're returnin' to HQ."

"Glad to hear it," Rufus replied. "Try to get back as quick as you can then we can debrief and plan out what to do next."

"Yes sir," Reno obeyed, "Reno out." Reno hung up on the phone and put it back in his pocket. "That was Rufus," Reno informed the group. "We should return to HQ," Reno told them, not wishing to be in the City of the Ancients any longer the group made their way back to the house where the crystal staircase was and began their slow ascent. As soon as they got out of the City of the Ancients Max reverted to his normal form and the group made their way back to the Sierra.

A few hours later they arrived at the WRO HQ and were soon in the meeting room. "First of all I'd like to congratulate you all on your success," Rufus began the meeting as he smiled at the group. "Thanks to your efforts the Lifestream has been purified again."

"It won't stop Illusion from retrying though," Nightshade stated pessimistically.

"I don't think Illusion would be stupid enough to try and corrupt the Lifestream again," Max replied as he placed his arms round the back of his head.

"We must defeat her before she tries anything else," Cloud stated determinedly as he stood up and banged his fists on the table.

"Illusion's lair would be heavily guarded and have countless traps," Reeve warned the group. "If you thought the reactors were bad, Illusion's lair would be 100 times worse."

"Reeve's right," Vincent agreed with man. "We need to come up with a plan, we can't just barge right in there we'll be killed."

"Plus I'm exhausted!" Yuffie complained, "I know Illusion's a threat to this planet but surely we could rest first."

"Evil doesn't rest," Max told Yuffie as he scowled at her. "Even now Illusion's plotting a new way to conquer this planet. We can't let that happen."

"But we're exhausted Max," Tifa stated agreeing with Yuffie. "We fought monsters in both the reactors and the City of the Ancients, we all need time to rest otherwise we'll have our asses handed to us."

"I agree with Tifa," Rufus replied. "You all did very well, and I will give you all time to rest and then we'll come up with a plan to rid the world of Illusion for good." There were general murmurs of agreement before everyone left the meeting room and went their own separate ways.

Max was sat on a roof in Kalm when Pandora landed next to him, "so this is where you've been hiding," she spoke to the Kitsune.

"I wasn't hiding," Max answered as he turned round to look at Pandora. "I came up here because it's quiet."

"What are you thinking about?" Pandora asked as she sat down next to Max.

"By now Illusion probably knows what we've been up to," Max started to explain. "Yet she hasn't shown up either at the reactors or at the City of the Ancients."

"That's because she sent her lackeys to take care of us," Pandora reminded him.

"I know…but, I get the feeling that this is far from over," Max continued. "Illusion's planning something, something big, I know she is."

"Well, we'll worry about that when it happens," Pandora stated reassuringly as she wrapped her arms round Max's neck. "For now, we should enjoy this reprieve while we can."

"Yeah you're right," Max replied as he smiled at Pandora before kissing her on the lips.

"I know I am," Pandora stated as she too smiled, the two kissed for a while before Pandora suddenly yawned. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

"Why don't you go back to HQ?" Max suggested kindly. "Get some sleep."

"Aren't you coming?" Pandora asked him.

"Nah," Max answered. "I'm not really tired, but I'll be along later."

"Ok," Pandora stated as she kissed Max on the lips again. "Night Max."

"Night Pan," Max replied affectionately as he smiled at her. Pandora also smiled before flapping her wings and flying back to HQ. Max sighed to himself before lying back and looking at the star lit sky.

Meanwhile Reno was walking through the streets of Kalm until he arrived at an apartment building. He entered the building and climbed up two flights of stairs before approaching his apartment. He was about to put his key in the door to unlock it but he was surprised to learn that the door was already unlocked. "Huh…" Reno uttered to himself as he pushed the door open slightly and grabbing his nightstick before charging through the door. "Alright, show yourself you bast…" Reno started to yell but he stopped both in his tracks and in midsentence as he saw Emma sat on the sofa in the living room. "Emma…" Reno uttered in shock as he lowered his nightstick. "How did you get in here?"

"I had a spare set of keys, remember?" Emma answered as she got up and walked up to Reno holding a set of keys in her hand.

"You could've told me you were here," Reno replied as he closed the door and removed his jacket. "I thought you were burglar I could've clubbed you on the head."

"I called your phone," Emma told Reno as she pointed to the phone and an answering machine on a coffee table near the sofa. "But you didn't answer so I left several messages on your answering machine."

"I was on an important mission," Reno replied. "I wasn't home all day."

"I also left several messages on your voicemail," Emma continued as she started to get a little irritated. "But you didn't answer that either."

"Emma, I already told you that I was on a highly dangerous mission I'm hardly gonna take time to listen to my voicemail." Reno explained himself.

"Well, you're here now and that's all that matters," Emma replied as she smiled at Reno. "I'm just gonna get started with dinner." Emma told the red haired Turk as she sauntered into the kitchen.

"Great…" Reno stated as he laughed nervously before sighing and flopping down on the couch. He sat there for a while just thinking. _"You're gonna have to tell her sooner or later,"_ Max's voice echoed in Reno's brain. _"And if I were you I'd do it sooner because the longer you leave it the harder it's gonna be." _Reno sighed again as he got up and walked into the kitchen. He saw Emma stood at the worktop cutting onions and humming to herself. Reno gulped nervously before approaching her, "errr…Emma…" Reno started to speak up.

"Yes…" Emma questioned without looking at Reno as she continued to chop the onions.

"There's something I need to tell you," Reno continued in a nervous voice as he started to sweat.

"What is it?" Emma asked as she stopped what she was doing and turned to face Reno still holding the knife.

"Errrr…geez…where do I start?" Reno started as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his shirt. "Look…I've had a lot of fun with you…but…that's all it was…a bit of fun."

"I don't understand," Emma replied as she gave Reno a nervous look. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean this isn't working out anymore," Reno answered as he nervously stared at the knife Emma was holding in her hand. "We're not working out anymore…"

"Are you dumping me…" Emma demanded in both shock and anger at the same time as she glared at Reno, her hand gripped the knife even tighter.

"I wouldn't say 'dump'…" Reno tried to sugar coat the truth as he started to back slowly out of the room. "More like calling it a day…"

"So you ARE dumping me!" Emma screamed at the top of her lungs as she threw the knife at Reno.

"Whoa!" Reno yelled as ducked just in time and the knife stuck into the wall behind him. "Emma…I know you're angry and upset but…" He dodged to the left as Emma threw a frying pan at him. "Look…can we just talk about this…"

"TALK!? WHAT IS THERE TO TALK ABOUT?!" Emma screamed at the top of her lungs as she continued to throw inanimate objects at Reno. "YOU'RE DUMPING ME!"

"Stop throwing things at me!" Reno yelled in panic as another frying pan hit him in the arm. "I can understand that you're upset but surely you knew that this wasn't gonna be a long term thing…I mean when I first met you we had a lot of fun…"

"IS THAT I ALL I WAS TO YOU?! A BIT OF FUN!" Emma screamed at Reno as she stomped up to him and glared at him. "EVERYTHING YOU EVER TOLD ME WAS A LIE!"

"No, you got it all wrong," Reno tried to reason with Emma while cowering under her glare at the same time. "Everything I said to you I meant it at the time but…I just don't feel that way about you any more." Reno continued to explain as he looked around at the now destroyed kitchen. "You know me I'm not a guy who stays in long term relationships…I'm not really looking for commitment…commitment scares me. Look I've wanted to tell you, I just couldn't find the right time…"

"SO YOU WERE PLANNING ON DUMPING ME!" Emma screamed at the top of her lungs as she continued to glare at Reno tempted to throttle him. "FINALLY IT ALL MAKES SENSE! THE EXTRA MISSIONS YOU WERE TAKING! CONVIENENTLY FORGETTING ABOUT OUR DATES! YOU WERE AVOIDING ME!"

"Yes, I was avoiding you," Reno admitted out of both fear and guilt. "I should've told you right away but I just hid like the coward that I am…but, at least it's out in the open now…"

"Yeah…I suppose you're right…" Emma stated in an eerily calm voice, her eyes suddenly softening. Reno sighed with relief as he finally got Emma to calm down. "If today taught me anything it was that…YOU'RE A LYING, NO GOOD, COWARDLY AND SAD EXCUSE FOR A MAN!" Emma suddenly shouted again as she jabbed her finger hard into Reno's chest between each word. "YOU'RE SO SELFISH AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT MY FEELINGS AT ALL!" Emma continued to yell as she barged passed Reno and ran out of the kitchen to the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Reno sighed as he slowly walked out of the kitchen and to the bedroom door. "Emma…" Reno called into the bedroom as he tapped on the door. "Come out please…we need to talk abut this." A few moments later the bedroom door opened and Emma walked out of the room carrying a large bag with clothes in it. "Emma…" Reno called out the woman's name as he got in front of her blocking her path. "You don't have to leave yet."

"Oh I'm not leaving," Emma answered coldly as she glared at Reno. "You are!" Emma shouted the last part as she thrust the bag into Reno's chest causing him to fall over.

"What…" Reno questioned as he threw the bag off him and stood up. "But this is my apartment…you can't throw me out."

"Well you should've thought of that before you decided to dump me!" Emma retorted as she continued to scowl at Reno. "NOW GET OUT!"

Reno was about to protest but he realised that he didn't have a choice so he kept his mouth shut. "Alright…I'll leave for now, give you time to calm down…but then we need to sit down and calmly talk about…" Reno didn't have chance to finish his sentence as Emma had shoved him out of the door and threw his bag out before slamming the door in his face.

Reno sighed as he picked the bag up and started to climb down the stairs and walked out of the apartment building. He walked down the street before coming across a bench and sitting on it. Reno sighed to himself again as he sat back on the bench. Elena walked passed and saw him, "Reno…" Elena uttered as she stopped and stared at the red haired man. "What are you doing out here and why do you have a bag?"

"Emma kicked me out," Reno answered not looking up at Elena.

"What happened?" Elena asked as she sat down on the bench next to Reno. Reno sighed and he began to explain everything that had happened from the moment he told Emma it was over between them to the moment she kicked him out of his own apartment. "So let me get this straight…" Elena spoke up as soon as Reno had finished. "She kicked you out of your own apartment…"

"Yeah," Reno answered as he finally looked up at Elena. "It sounds weird I know but…"

"Weird is an understatement," Elena cut in hardly daring to believe what she had heard. "She kicked you out of your own apartment."

"You don't have to rub it in…" Reno muttered irritably as he scowled at Elena.

"No I mean…" Elena started before stopping, she sighed before trying again. "Ok, what did you say to Emma to make her throw you out of the apartment?"

"I just told her it wasn't really working out and we should call it day," Reno answered truthfully. "But she went completely psycho at me. My kitchen looks like a bomb went off in it." Elena tried hard not to laugh when she heard that. "But I told her and weren't you nagging me to tell her for weeks?" Reno asked in his own defence.

"I meant for you to let her down gently," Elena corrected as she stared at Reno. "You couldn't even do that right."

"I tried to let her down gently," Reno responded quickly as he used his hands for emphasis. "But she went completely overboard…I already told you what happened to my kitchen."

"I suppose you're right…" Elena stated with a sigh, "you did tell her and that's the main thing." Elena smiled at Reno. "I guess you want a place to stay."

"Yeah," Reno answered as he flopped back on the bench. "But I'll just crash at Rude's for a few days."

Elena laughed, "Good luck with that," was all she said.

"What do you mean by that?" Reno demanded as he scowled at Elena.

"Rude's getting wasted at the bar," Elena explained trying not to laugh at the expression on Reno's face. "He won't be back for at least a couple of hours, you're welcome to stay at my apartment for the night." Elena kindly offered as she stood up.

"Thanks Elena," Reno replied gratefully as he smiled at the blonde haired woman. "But I don't want to be a bother."

"It'll be no bother," Elena insisted as she smiled back at Reno. "I could do with the company, besides, I've got a bottle of wine in the fridge and I'm hardly gonna drink that by myself."

Reno's grin grew wider, "well since you put it that way, how can I refuse?" Reno questioned as he stood up and grabbed his bag. "Lead the way," Elena smiled and she led Reno to her apartment building.

The two entered the building and climbed up three flights of stairs before approaching Elena's apartment. Elena put her key in the lock and opened the door. "Here we are," Elena stated as she and Reno entered the apartment and Reno was surprised to see how clean it was. "I know it's not much but do make yourself at home."

"Thanks," Reno replied gratefully as he entered the small but cosy looking living room. He put his back down before sitting on the couch and looking round. "I like your apartment," Reno commented as he continued to look around. "It's so…clean."

"Thanks," Elena thanked the red haired man as she entered the kitchen. A minute later she entered the living room with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Elena sat down on the couch next to Reno and poured some of the wine into the glasses. She gave one to Reno before picking her own glass up, the two took a sip of their wine.

"So…how are things with you and Tseng?" Reno asked Elena as he tried hard to make conversation.

"Not so good…" Elena answered with a sigh as she stared dejectedly at her wine glass. "I followed Tifa's advice, I gave him an ultimatum, either me or work."

"How did he take it?" Reno questioned.

"He was shocked at first," Elena started to explain. "He wondered where it had come from but I forced him to make the choice, no prizes for guessing what he chose."

"I'm sorry," Reno apologised sincerely.

"Are you?" Elena asked as she gave Reno a sceptical stare.

"Of course," Reno answered honestly as he took another swig from his wine glass. "I know how you felt about Tseng, you were head over heels in love with him."

"It's a shame he didn't feel the same way about me…" Elena stated sadly as she downed her wine in one. "More wine…" Elena offered as she held the bottle up.

Reno smirked, "I thought you'd never ask," he answered slyly as he held his glass out to Elena. Elena also smiled as she refilled the glasses.

An hour later and the wine bottle was completely finished and Reno and Elena were slightly tipsy from the wine. "No way!" Elena yelled, "Tseng was actually like that…"

"Yep," Reno answered as he nodded. "Even before you joined the Turks he was a miserable git," Reno laughed as he continued to gossip about his superior. "The guy was a complete bore to work with."

"Who told you all this?" Elena questioned eagerly as she got closer to Reno.

"Zack," Reno answered as he snickered. "He's worked on many missions with Tseng back in his SOLDIER days. He's told me that he tried to crack a few jokes to Tseng, but he never cracked a smile."

Elena laughed loudly when she heard that, "Sounds like Zack, but he can be a bit of a goofball at times."

"I'd rather work with a goofball than a miserable ass," Reno stated in a half joking manner. "At least the goofball has a sense of humour."

"I guess you're right," Elena agreed before giggling again. "I think this wine's gone straight to my head…" Elena stated slightly drunk.

"You need to learn to handle your drink…" Reno responded jokingly as he smirked at Elena.

"What do you mean?" Elena demanded as she scowled at Reno, her hands were on her hips.

"Exactly what I said," Reno answered. "You're not accustomed to this amount of alcohol."

"Are you calling me a lightweight?!" Elena yelled at Reno as she jabbed her index finger in to his chest.

"When did you hear me say the word lightweight?" Reno asked as he smiled at Elena. Elena thought for a moment but couldn't answer. "Aha!" Reno yelled triumphantly as he waggled his finger in Elena's face.

"Ok, ok…" Elena uttered quickly as she stuck her tongue out at Reno and stood up. "But if we were to have a drinking a contest I'd be able to drink you under the table, and Rude too."

Reno started laughing, "I'd like to see you try," Reno mocked Elena as he stood up and smirked at her. "Me and Rude are the undisputed champions of drinking!" Reno boasted as he jabbed his thumb into his chest.

Elena just stared at him, "that's nothing to be proud of," she stated sternly.

"Meh…you've gotta be good at somethin'…" Reno replied indifferently as he shrugged, Elena merely nodded unsure of what to say. For a few moments there was an awkward silence between them. "You deserve better," Reno suddenly said breaking the awkward silence.

"What…" Elena uttered hardly daring to believe what she had heard.

"I said you deserve better," Reno repeated, his tone of voice had completely changed. He was no longer joking around but he sounded sincere. "You're a very special woman you know that…"

"Oh stop it…" Elena uttered in an embarrassing tone.

"I'm serious," Reno replied as he walked up to Elena. "You're smart, beautiful and funny."

"Don't forget clumsy," Elena cut in.

"Maybe that's just one of those quirks that makes you irresistible," Reno stated kindly as he smiled at Elena.

Elena smiled back, "you really think I'm irresistible?" Elena asked.

"Yep," Reno answered. "Tseng doesn't know what he's missing, I mean he had a beautiful woman on his shoulder and all he can think about is work. Sometimes I think he takes you for granted."

"Well…he has his redeemable qualities," Elena quickly spoke up

"Really…" Reno questioned as he gave Elena a sceptical stare. "Such as…"

"Well…" Elena stammered as she tried to think of any redeemable qualities Tseng had. "He's a…great leader…"

"That's the best you could come up with…" Reno scoffed as he folded his arms not taking his eyes off Elena. "You could've at least said that he has a tattoo or a personality, then I would've been more inclined to believe you."

"A tattoo is not a redeemable quality…" Elena snapped at Reno as she scowled at him.

"Neither's being a bore…" Reno shot back.

"Like you're one to talk!" Elena suddenly snapped at Reno causing him to stare at her in shock. "The way you parade around with your wild, unruly hair, your untucked and ruffled shirt and…" Elena walked closer to Reno. "Your rugged good looks…" Elena uttered in a dream like voice as she reached out and stroked Reno's face "and your beautiful eyes and pouting lips and…" Elena suddenly stepped away from Reno and scowled at him. "How you always brag and boast about you being god's gift to women!" Elena snapped again causing Reno to give her a confused look. "I hate you Reno…" Elena whispered in Reno's ear. "But…at the same time…I can't help but fall for you…"

"Errr…Elena…" Reno started to say. "What are you...Mmmmmmm…" Reno couldn't finish the rest of his sentence as Elena had started kissing him on the lips. Reno was shocked at first but he wrapped his arms round Elena's waist and kissed her back. However the two soon broke apart as the door bell rang, "I'll get it," Reno stated as he walked to the door and answered it. "Tseng…" Reno uttered as he saw his superior stood at the door.

"Reno…" Tseng stated indifferently as he stared at the red haired man. "Is Elena in?"

"Yeah, I'll just get her," Reno answered. "Elena! Tseng's at the door!" Reno yelled into the apartment and a few seconds later Elena was at the door.

"What do you want?" Elena asked rudely as she glared at Tseng.

"Elena…have you been drinking?" Tseng asked, his voice was filled with concern.

"Don't act like you don't care!" Elena snapped at Tseng. "We all know you care more about your work than you do about me!"

"I'm glad I've caught Elena, I need you to come back with me," Tseng requested completely ignoring Elena's outburst.

Elena stomped up to Tseng, "if you think I'm even gonna give you a second chance you can forget it!" Elena yelled as she jabbed her finger into Tseng's chest. "I will never get back with you! You've made your choice now deal with it!"

"I need you and Reno to come back with me now," Tseng requested again much more urgently this time. "HQ has been attacked."

"What?!" Reno and Elena questioned at the same time as they stared at Tseng in shock, Elena's anger for Tseng has long since gone.

"HQ is being attacked," Tseng repeated. "Everyone else is on their way, we must return to HQ right away."

"Ok," Reno and Elena stated in perfect unison, they grabbed their weapons and followed Tseng out of the apartment building and ran as fast as they could to the WRO HQ meeting everyone else on the way. As everyone got to the entrance they saw several Dark Kitsunes, Deep Ground Soldiers and a whole host of crystalline creatures attacking the building. The group withdrew their weapons and fought their way through the hordes of dark creatures and soldiers.

"Hurry!" Tseng yelled to the group as they fought their way through and ran into the building. "We must get to Rufus!" More creatures and soldiers met them in the lobby but the group soon made light work of them and ran to the elevator only to find that it was completely destroyed. The group ran to the stairs and began to climb them fighting creature after creature as they made their way to the top.

The group reached the top floor and ran down the corridor to Rufus' office, they barged through the door to find that the office was a complete mess. They saw a shadowy figure stood at the back of the room and two people floating in the air. The group got closer and were shocked to discover that the two people that were floating in the air unconscious were Rufus and Pandora. "PANDORA!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he saw Pandora floating there unconscious, her hands were tied behind her back.

"Hello Max…" The shadowy figure spoke up as they turned round and stepped out of the shadows to reveal Illusion. "Did you miss me?"

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**Finally chapter 29 is complete, sorry to leave it like that but I thought I'd leave this chapter on a bit of a cliff hangar plus the chapter's already long enough. Chapter 30 will be on its way as soon as I can find time to type it. I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its character they belong to Square Enix. However my own characters of my creation and belong to me so if you want to use them please ask.**


	30. Castle of Illusion and a Promise Kept

**Chapter 30: Castle of Illusion and a Fulfilled Promise**

**I apologise in advance for the long chapter, in order to avoid eye strain injury please read it in small sections at a time.**

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Max stared at Illusion in shock as the Dark Kitsune walked closer to the group. "Illusion…" Max spat the woman's name like a bitter poison as he summoned his sword from his dimension and pointed it at Illusion.

"Are you going to run me through with your sword?" Illusion questioned in a mocking tone. Max growled at Illusion but he said nothing as he continued to point his sword at her. "I wouldn't if I were you, you might make me hurt my guests," Illusion continued as she pointed at Rufus and Pandora.

"You wouldn't…" Max hissed under his breath.

"Try me…" Illusion answered as she smirked evilly at Max. Max glared at Illusion refusing to back down, but then his eyes moved upwards to Pandora who was still floating in the air unconscious.

Max squeezed his eyes shut not wanting to look at Pandora, _"damn…she looks so vulnerable…" _Max thought sadly to himself still with his eyes shut. _"Illusion knows my weakness…and now she's going to use Pandora to get to me…but…if I try any heroics now…Pandora will be…" _Max shuddered not wanting to think of what Illusion would do to Pandora if he tried anything. Max opened his eyes again and as he did so his glare softened. He sighed before hanging his head, his arm feel limp to his side before his sword disappeared into his dimension.

"A wise choice," Illusion spoke as her evil grin grew wider. Max still had his head to the floor not looking at Illusion, he didn't want to see the smug grin on her face. Nor did he want to give her the satisfaction. "At a loss for words are we?" She asked mockingly. Max still said nothing, he was breathing deeply trying to remain calm. "Awww…poor little Maxi…" Illusion continued to mock the young Kitsune, "can't even protect the woman he cares about…" Max gritted his teeth as Illusion's words were slowly getting to him. Illusion walked up to Max and placed her hand under his chin and forced his face upwards so that he was looking at her. "You're pathetic you know that…you're weak."

"Don't listen to her Max," Nightshade warned his son. "She wants a reaction from you, don't give her what she wants."

"Yes, listen to me Max," Illusion continued to goad him.

"_Let me out so I can tear her limb from limb!" _Dark Max's voice echoed in Max's head, Max just ignored his alter ego.

Illusion laughed as she saw Max struggling to keep himself calm, "well I got what I came for. If you want to see Rufus Shinra and your darling wife again, you will do exactly as I say…"

Max glared at Illusion before giving in, "yes…" he whispered quietly.

"There's a good boy," Illusion stated patronisingly. "Oh, and if you thought that destroying the reactors was going to stop me you're wrong. There's more than one way to conquer a planet, and if you'd care to look out the window you will see what I mean."

Everyone walked over to the window and were shocked to see that the sky was filled with purple coloured clouds and numerous purple coloured crystals fell to the ground and transformed into hideous purple armoured monsters. There were also many Dark Kitsune soldiers plus Illusion's necromical army. "Oh no…" Sunny uttered with a gasp, "there's more of them."

"A lot more…" Drogo added as he tried his best to hide his shock.

"We have to do something, otherwise those monsters will destroy everything we tried so hard to rebuild." Cloud stated in a worried tone.

"Well, I'd love to stay and watch the fun, but I have other engagements." Illusion mockingly told the group.

"Illusion!" Max screamed at the woman and dashed towards her but Illusion had already teleported along with her two captives. Max ran passed the place where Illusion was stood a few seconds before and he crashed into the wall.

"Max are you ok?" Tifa asked as she ran over to Max and helped him up.

"Yeah…" Max uttered as he let Tifa help him up, "Pandora…she's gone…" Max stated sadly as he looked over at where she was floating before.

Nightshade walked up to Max, "don't worry son," he tried to reassure Max as he placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "We'll get her back, and Rufus too."

Max looked up at Nightshade, "I thought you weren't one to offer emotional support…" Max stated as he gave Nightshade a questioning look.

"Well you look like you need it right now," Nightshade answered. "I can be caring when I want to be, just don't mention it to the others or you're a dead man."

Max smiled weakly, "there's the father I know and love," he replied as he stood up. "You're right, I can't sit here moping. That's never gonna get Pandora back."

"Don't forget Rufus," Tifa added as she reminded Max of Illusion's other captive.

"And Rufus as well," Max stated as he walked over to the rest of the group. The group heard the sound of an elevator and turned round to see the elevator doors open and they saw Reeve and another person leave the elevator and enter the room. "Reeve…" Max uttered the man's name as he walked over to him. "You're ok."

"Of course," Reeve answered as he smiled at Max. "Thanks to this young lady," Reeve gestured to the person behind him. The person stepped forwards to reveal Shelke, "those strange creatures were attacking everywhere," Reeve explained to the group. "I thought I was a goner for sure but young Shelke here fought bravely against them."

"It was nothing," Shelke replied modestly.

"Don't be so modest Shelke," Reeve told the young girl. "You did well, I always said that I could count on you."

Shelke blushed when she heard Reeve say that, even though a whole year had passed she still wasn't used to people saying that they were counting on her. Nevertheless it gave her a warm feeling inside whenever she heard it. "We're glad you're ok Reeve," Cloud stated as he walked over to the man, "but we have to get you out of this building, it's no longer safe here."

"I know," Reeve replied as he nodded at Cloud.

"Reeve, do you still have the teleportation devices?" Max asked, "It's just that we really need them."

"Don't worry, the teleportation devices are safe." Reeve told Max.

"I have them right here," Shelke replied as she held up a bag. "I managed to grab them before me and Reeve left the workshop."

"So, I guess this means that we're on a rescue mission," Reno stated as he looked at the group.

"It would seem so," Rude responded as he cleaned his shades.

"I'm coming too," Elena decided. "If that's ok," She added as she smiled at Reno.

"Well I dunno," Reno answered in a cheeky manner as he smirked at Elena. "Are you sure you're a good shot with that gun?"

Elena scowled at Reno, "you know I am," she stated in an irritated manner as she placed her hands on her hips. "I saved your ass enough times."

"Hey relax Elena I was kidding," Reno told her. "I just didn't think you'd want to come."

"I can hold my own," Elena told him.

"You're not kidding there," Reno stated in a flirtatious manner.

"Are we missing something?" Aerith questioned as she looked from Elena to Reno and back at Elena.

"Errr…no…" Reno answered quickly as he gave Aerith a nervous stare. "Come on…let's go…" Reno pushed passed Aerith and left the room.

"What's up with him?" Sunny asked Elena.

"It's best you don't know," Elena answered vaguely.

"Did something happen?" Sunny continued to question Elena.

"Sunny, can you interrogate Elena later?" Max demanded, "We've got more important things to tend to."

"Right, sorry," Sunny apologised, the group ran out of the room. Elena sighed a huge sigh of relief before following everyone out of the room.

Everyone made their way out of the WRO building and they saw the crystal creatures and the Dark Kitsunes close up. "This is bad…" Drogo uttered as he stared at the new monsters.

Max closed his eyes and growled under his breath before opening them to reveal that they were red and pupiless. "OUT OF MY WAY!" Dark Max yelled as he charged at the Dark Kitsunes, he ran at one of the Dark Kitsunes and slashed at him repeatedly with his claws until the Dark Kitsune fell to the floor dead. Dark Max continued in this fashion creating a path in the sea of monsters.

"To the Sierra!" Cloud ordered the group as they followed Dark Max, killing any Dark Kitsunes they came across. The group reached the hangar and were about to enter when a giant crystal Behemoth blocked their path.

"I hate Behemoths…" Zack complained as the monster roared at the group. "They don't fight fair!"

(**A/N I do not own any of the Mummy films in any way.**)

"We must defeat it if we are to get to the Sierra," Shelke replied calmly as she took out her electromagnetic sabres and held them out in front of her.

"I still don't understand how you can be so calm," Zack told the girl as he gave her a confused stare.

"It's easy, I have a little something called discipline," Shelke answered without looking at the raven haired man. "Maybe you should give it a try."

"LET'S JUST KILL THIS THING!" Dark Max yelled impatiently as he charged at the crystal Behemoth, the monster roared as it breathed a purple fireball at Dark Max. Dark Max easily avoided it by side stepping to the left as he ran, the Behemoth then slammed its giant paw into the ground in order to crush Dark Max. However Dark Max leapt into the air just as the paw slammed down, he leapt on to the paw and started to hack away at the armour on the arm.

Shelke also ran at the Behemoth dragging her sabres behind her creating sparks as she ran. The Behemoth swung its other arm at Shelke but due to her small size the arm easily swept over her head. As the monster's arm was right over Shelke's head she quickly swung her sabres upwards into the Behemoth's arm cutting the armour clean off. The monster let out a loud roar as it stomped the ground with its feet creating seismic waves which knocked the group off balance.

The Behemoth then turned its attention to Dark Max who was still hacking away at the armour on its arm. The monster violent shook its arm causing Dark Max to lose his grip, his claws scraped against the armour as he held on for dear life. The group could hear a metallic snap as Dark Max's claws finally penetrated the armour revealing a small purple crystal. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh…it's weak spot…" Dark Max uttered with a smirk as he quickly and violently dug his claws into the crystal completely shattering it. The Behemoth roared in pain but it was still very much alive. "IT'S STILL ALIVE!" Dark Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he leapt off the Behemoth's arm just in time as the other arm slammed down on it.

"There must be multiple weak points on its body," Shelke stated as she along with the others staggered to their feet. Shelke noticed a small glowing object underneath a single plate of armour on the Behemoth's other arm. "I think I found another one," she added as she quickly leapt up and knocked the remaining piece of armour away fully exposing the crystal on the other arm. However before Shelke could destroy it the Behemoth opened its mouth wide and snapped Shelke up.

"SHELKE!" The group screamed at the top of their lungs before Vincent and Lance lunged forwards. Lance stopped and held his spear straight out in front of him. Vincent leapt on to the spear and Lance flung him into the air in the direction of the Behemoth. As Vincent performed a twist in midair he removed Cerberus from its holster and shot at the Behemoth's head denting its armour. The Behemoth shook its head violently as it thrust its arm forwards and shot purple energy balls at Vincent, however just as the energy balls were about to hit Vincent a reflective barrier appeared in front of him and deflected the energy balls. The energy balls flew back into the Behemoth and exploded, the impact caused the armour on the Behemoth's head to fall off and reveal a third crystal.

Vincent looked down and he saw Angel stood there her eyes had opened as if coming out of a trance. "Thanks," Vincent told the rabbit gratefully as she nodded in response. The Behemoth spat Shelke out, she swung round in midair and slashed at the crystal on its arm shattering it before landing ass first on the ground. Vincent also landed and dragged Shelke out of the way as the Behemoth landed on all fours and roared at the group.

They saw more armour along its back, Cid and Lance smirked at each other before running towards the Behemoth and using their spears as poles leapt on to the Behemoth's back and drove their spears into the armour to loosen it before kicking it off. Meanwhile Cloud and Zack charged at the crystal on the Behemoth's head while Barret, Isis and Sunny shot at it from a distance. Cloud performed his famous Braver attack while Zack performed a whirling slash at the same time on the crystal cracking it. Barret and Isis loaded armour piercing rounds while Sunny imbued her bow with Holy power. The three opened fire at the same time, the armour piercing rounds and the Holy arrow hit the crystal right in the centre and it exploded in a bright white light.

The Behemoth roared in pain and its body violently shook to the point where Cid and Lance had to dig their spears into the monster's back to stay on. "If I wanted to play Buckaroo I would've played it in the safety of ma own home!" Cid yelled as the Behemoth continued to shake.

"CID THIS IS NO TIME FOR JOKES!" Lance screamed at the pilot as he continued to hold on for dear life.

"Who's jokin'?" Cid retorted, he looked down and he saw a purple crystal embedded in the Behemoth's back. "I think I found another weak spot," Cid informed Lance. "I sure hope it's the last bloody one!"

Lance looked in Cid's direction and he too saw the crystal, "alright, we both stab our spears into it on the count of three." Lance told Cid, "1, 2, 3!" Lance yelled as both he and Cid quickly removed their spears from the monster's back and stabbed them deep into the crystal cracking it.

The Behemoth let out a loud pained roar and it shook itself again causing Lance and Cid to fall off, they along with Dark Max ran back to the group just as Behemoth cast comet on the group. "EVERYONE SCATTER!" Drogo yelled at the top of his lungs as the group ran just in time as a giant comet slammed into the ground where the group was stood a few seconds before leaving a giant crater. The group breathed deeply as they looked at the Behemoth which was continuing to roar in pain as its body became crystallised and smashed into millions of pieces.

"It...tried to take us down with it..." Angel uttered as she stared at the crater in shock.

"Behemoth's tend to do that," Yuffie answered. "Believe me it annoys us as well."

"They don't play fair," Zack added as he walked passed Angel.

Dark Max panted heavily as he reverted, "Come on...we better get to the Sierra before more of those things show up." Max stated as he made his way into the hangar, the rest of the group followed and they got into the Sierra.

A few minutes later the Sierra was airborne and everyone was in the media room, Tifa turned the TV on just in time as the news came on. They saw the city of Edge and an attractive young blonde haired woman, "we're live in the city of Edge where we have received word that strange monsters have spawned out of nowhere and have started attacking cities world wide." The news reporter informed the public, "WRO agents have been post all over the world and are trying to hold these monsters back but the monsters have proven to be quite a challenge."

"That's because the monsters aren't of this world," Max muttered under his breath. "WRO aren't equipped to fight monsters like that."

"Citizens have been warned to stay indoors at all times and to lock all windows and doors," the news reporter continued unaware that a pack of purple armoured wolves were advancing on her. "Also be sure to have plenty of food supplies as this threat could take quite a while to..." The news reporter stopped in midsentence as she heard growls behind her, she turned round and saw the crystal wolves. The news reporter screamed as the wolves leapt on her and started to tear her limb from limb before Aerith turned the TV off.

"I can't watch anymore..." Aerith uttered in a disgusted tone.

"Every city is being attacked," Red stated as he gave the group a worried look. "The situation is worse than I thought, Illusion has dispatched these creatures all over the world at the same time."

"Great..." Yuffie muttered as she rolled her eyes. "First Wutai gets destroyed by Shinra and now strange monsters are gonna destroy it."

"I guess this means we've gotta slay the monsters to make all this stop," Reno replied as he sighed to himself.

"To what end?" Max asked, he was stood at the back of the room leaning against the wall. He hung his head low and his eyes were closed.

The group turned round to look at him, "what do you mean?" Sunny questioned.

Max sighed as he looked up, "those aren't ordinary monsters," he answered as he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the rest of the group. "They were created by a necromancer, we could slay all those monsters and it would only take a single incantation for Illusion to revive them."

"But if we kill Illusion," Reeve added understanding what Max was saying. "Then all her magic dies with her."

"Exactly," Max replied as he nodded at Reeve. "That's why we should only go after Illusion herself, to end this and to rescue Pandora and Rufus."

"_Be careful Max,"_ Aurora's voice spoke in Max's head. _"Illusion isn't just any necromancer, she's extremely powerful."_

"I know," Max told his mother. "I'm not as naive as I used to be, I'm aware of her power."

"_I just thought I'd warn you, this isn't like the time you defeated Pandora's aunt in that village." _Aurora reminded him.

"Well, thanks for the warning mum," Max replied gratefully.

"_Don't suffocate the boy Aurora," _Nightshade joined in the conversation.

"_I'm his mother,_" Aurora spoke in Nightshade's head. _"It's my job to worry about him."_

"But you have a tendency to over do it," Nightshade told Aurora.

"_I don't!"_ Aurora protested.

"You do," Nightshade stated calmly, "You over reacted when you found out that Max was riding a bike without a licence."

"_He was doing something illegal," _Aurora reminded Nightshade. _And you were no better."_

"Mum, dad!" Max yelled at both his parents, "I'm a big boy now I can take care of myself. Mum, you need to learn to back off a bit and give me some breathing space."

"_But..." _Aurora started to protest.

"I'll be fine mum," Max reassured Aurora. "This isn't the first time I've stared death in the face and it won't be the last either."

Aurora tried to protest again but she knew that Max was right. _"Alright..._" she gave in, _"but please be careful."_

"I will," Max promised Aurora, now that she was fully reassured that her son was going to be fine she left his head. Max sighed, "Mothers..." he muttered half to himself.

"I'll access the SND to find out where Illusion has gone," Shelke informed the group. "It will take a few minutes." She left the room and made her way to the computer room.

"I'll make my way to the workshop on the airship and try to find out more about the teleportation devices." Reeve stated as he too left the media room and made his way to the workshop.

Everyone went their own separate ways, Reno walked down the corridor until he stopped at Elena's room. He knocked on the door, "who is it?" Elena asked through the door.

"It's Reno," Reno answered through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Just a minute," Elena replied as she walked over to the door and opened it. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Reno answered. "Preferably in private."

"Well, you'd better come in then," Elena offered as she moved away from the door so Reno could enter the room. She walked over to the bed and Reno closed the door behind him and locked it. "What do you want to talk to me about?" She asked as she sat down on the bed.

Reno ruffled his hair, "I wanted to talk to you about earlier tonight," Reno answered as he walked over to the bed. "When we...you know..."

"Kissed..." Elena finished Reno's sentence.

"Yeah," Reno replied as he nodded."Why did you kiss me?"

"I was drunk," Elena answered not taking her eyes off Reno. "We both were, it was just a stupid drunk kiss."

Reno gave Elena a knowing look, "well that's not the impression I got." Reno told Elena as he walked over to the bed. "To me, it seemed like more than a drunken kiss."

Meanwhile Tseng was walking through the corridor and he stopped outside Elena's door. He was about to knock on so that he could talk to Elena properly and explain everything to her. However he hesitated when he could hear Reno and Elena talking. "Listen to me Reno, it was just a drunken kiss and we need to forget about it." Elena said to Reno blatantly lying to herself.

Reno smiled ruefully, "Elena, I've known you long enough now to be able to tell that you're lying to yourself. He stated as he sat down on the bed next Elena.

"_Kiss…" _Tseng thought to himself as he listened in on Reno and Elena's conversation. _"What kiss?"_ Tseng was tempted to barge in there and demand an explanation however his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to listen in to hear more.

"Reno please," Elena begged the red haired man as she stood up and walked away from the bed. "You just broke up with Emma and my relationship with Tseng ended so suddenly…I was upset and you…well I'm not really sure how you were feeling but…you were just there at the time, we both had too much to drink and we should leave it at that."

Reno stood up and walked towards the blonde haired woman and wrapped his arms round her waist. "I think that you're too afraid to give in to your real feelings," Reno told her as he kissed her on the neck.

"I feel nothing for you!" Elena yelled as she pried Reno's arms off her and pushed him away. "And you don't feel anything for any woman, all you want is a bit of fun."

"Well, a certain attractive, blonde haired woman has changed all that," Reno stated as he stared at Elena.

"What do you mean?" Elena demanded as she turned round to face Reno and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, when I first met you I thought that you were annoying and naive." Reno told Elena as she scowled at him. "But when I heard that you had feelings for Tseng and started going out with him I was secretly jealous." Reno admitted causing Elena's glare to soften.

"Jealous..." Elena repeated the last word Reno said as her scowl turned into shock.

"Yeah," Reno answered as he nodded. "I did have feelings for a woman for quite some time, and that woman was you."

Elena's shock turned to confusion as she continued to stare at Reno. "If you had feelings for me the whole time then why did you go out with Emma?"

"Because I was too afraid to admit how I really felt about you," The red haired man admitted as he ruffled his hair. "I thought you'd find it stupid that a renowned womaniser had feelings for a woman, so I decided to play it cool. I dated Emma in the hopes of making jealous but it didn't work out the way I'd hoped."

Elena thought for a moment before sighing, "You were right Reno," she stated as took a few steps closer to him. "I've been too afraid to give into my real feelings, it's time I was honest with myself."

"What do you mean?" Reno asked as it was his turn to look shocked.

"When you were going with Emma, even though I seemed like I was happy for you. I was secretly jealous."

"Wha..." Reno uttered as his eyes grew wide with shock. He stared at Elena stunned for a moment unsure of what to say and for some time there was an awkward silence between the two. "But I thought you were going out with Tseng." Reno spoke up breaking the awkward silence

"I know, I know," Elena stated as she was stood right in front of Reno now. "I did love Tseng at first, but he became so obsessed with his work and I felt neglected." She admitted as she gave Reno a sad look. "I wanted a man to love me and to treat me like a woman, all Tseng wanted was to get his paperwork done." She sighed deeply and Reno wrapped his arms round Elena's waist again, this time she didn't push him away. "Mine and Tseng's relationship became sour very quickly, I mean in the three and a half years we were going out, we only had four dates."

"Yikes," Reno uttered. "That's all..."

"Yeah," Elena answered as she nodded. "Reno...I...I love you."

Reno stared at Elena in shock, "y...you do..." He stammered.

Elena nodded, "yeah," she answered truthfully. "Tonight was more than a drunken kiss, I know that now."

Reno smiled, "I love you too Elena," he admitted. The two stared at each other for a moment before moving closer to each other. Their lips were almost touching until they kissed passionately, Elena moved her hands up to Reno's head and started to ruffle his hair as she lifted her left leg up. The two moaned in pleasure as their tongues made contact with each other and Elena slowly pushed Reno back towards the bed and they both lay down on it still kissing.

Tseng was still stood outside the door, too stunned to speak or even move. He could clearly hear Elena and Reno through the door moaning as they continued to kiss each other passionately. _"I can't take this anymore..." _Tseng thought to himself as he finally walked away from the door.

Meanwhile Shelke had d the computer and walked over to her chair. She sat down on the chair and picked up the helmet from the side of the chair and put it on her head before lying back. Shelke's body shook as she entered the Synaptic Net Dive. _"Show me where Illusion is," _She requested, as she made this request the SND downloaded information into Shelke's brain and she saw the Northern Cave and secret lab within it. She also saw Pandora and Rufus locked in a cell still unconscious. Information continued to surge into her brain before she deactivated the SND and woke up in the chair.

Shelke removed the helmet and put it in its usual place before standing up. She took a metallic blue phone out of her pocket and dialled a number. Max was stood on the deck by himself looking at the fast moving scenery when his phone rang. Max reached into his pocket and pulled out a green phone with two blue streaks on the side of it. He pushed the answer button and put the phone to his ear, "hello?" Max spoke into the phone.

"Max it's Shelke," Shelke spoke up on the other side of the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" Max questioned.

"I used the Synaptic Net Dive to find out where Illusion had taken Pandora and Rufus," Shelke started to explain. "It turns out that there's a secret lab there."

"A secret lab..." Max uttered, "Why is there a secret lab in the Northern Cave?"

"My guess is that Illusion created it at some point," Shelke answered. "I saw glimpses of it when the information was downloaded into my brain. The technology is not of this world, it looks more advanced."

"Kitsune technology," Max uttered as he knew what Shelke meant.

"Most likely," Shelke stated. "Rufus and Pandora are there as well, they're in a holding cell deep in the secret lab."

"Pandora..." Max whispered his wife's name. "Are they ok?" Max asked his voice was filled with concern.

"As far as I know they're still unconscious," Shelke told him. "They looked unharmed to me but I'm not sure how long they'll be safe for."

"We have to get to them as quickly as possible," Max stated.

"You'll have to tell the others where Rufus and Pandora are," Shelke replied.

"I will," Max stated, "thanks Shelke."

"You're welcome," Shelke responded before Max hung up on the phone.

Max sighed before going back into the airship and walking towards the control room. He entered the control room and he saw Cid stood at the control panel and the co-pilots busy doing various jobs, Max walked up to Cid. "Hey Cid, can I use the speaker?" Max requested as the pilot turned round and looked at the Kitsune.

"Why do you need it?" Cid responded as he gave Max a questioning look.

"I know where Illusion has taken Pandora and Rufus," Max answered. "I need to inform everyone."

"Oh, well sure you can use it." Cid stated.

"Thanks," Max replied gratefully as he picked up the speaker. "Attention everyone!" Max's voice echoed on the intercom throughout the Sierra. "I need you all to meet me in the control room immediately!" Max put the speaker down and waited patiently.

A few minutes later everyone arrived in the control room, "what is it?" Sunny questioned as she stared at everyone.

"What's the emergency?!" Barret demanded as he scowled at Max. "I was just about to kick Drogo's ass on a boxing game."

"More like you were getting your ass handed to ya," Drogo corrected the man as he smirked at him.

"Whatever!" Barret snapped at Drogo.

"Guys!" Max yelled causing everyone to stop talking and turn to look at him. "Now that I've got your attention Shelke has found out where Illusion has taken Pandora and Rufus," Max informed the group.

"Where?" They asked in perfect unison.

"The Northern Cave," Max answered as the group stared at him.

"Why the Northern Cave?" Yuffie questioned as she stared at Max.

"Illusion has a secret lab there," Max explained as best he could. "Don't ask me how or why, the point is that's where Pandora and Rufus are being held."

"So we're going to the Northern Cave then," Tifa stated as she looked at the others.

"Don't worry," Cid reassured the group. "Thanks to Max's upgrades I'll get us there in no time flat." Cid pulled a lever and two more thrusters emerged out of the Sierra. "Alright, I'm settin' a course for the Northern Cave!" Cid pushed a button and the extra thrusters became active and it sped off towards the Northern Cave.

* * *

Meanwhile in the secret lab in the Northern Cave Rufus woke up to find himself lying on the floor in a cell. _"What is this place?"_ He thought to himself as he stood up and walked around the cell, he turned to his right and he saw Pandora lying on the floor a short distance away still unconscious. Rufus walked up to Pandora and knelt down beside her.

After a while Pandora woke up, "Uuuuuuuuuhhhh…" she moaned as she opened her eyes and saw Rufus. "Rufus…" She questioned as the man nodded.

"Yes," Rufus answered as he was still kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Pandora replied as she sat up and shook her head. "All I remember is leaving Kalm to go to bed and after that it was all…"

"A blur…" Rufus finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah," Pandora answered as she nodded. "I saw some strange creatures attacking WRO before I was knocked unconscious."

"Same here," Rufus told her. "I sent the alert before I was knocked out."

Pandora lifted her head up and looked around to find herself in an unfamiliar place. "Where are we?" She asked as she looked up at Rufus.

"I'm not sure," Rufus answered truthfully. "I woke up a few minutes before you did, no guards have entered the cell yet."

"I wish someone would enter the cell soon," Pandora stated as she folded her arms. "Then we can find out what the hell's going on here!"

As soon as Pandora said this the cell door was opened and Illusion flanked by two Dark Kitsune guards and two Deep Ground Soldiers entered the cell. "So you're both awake," Illusion uttered in her usual manner as she smirked evilly at her two prisoners. "Good, I wouldn't want you both to miss out on the fun."

Pandora and Rufus both stood up, "Where are we?" Rufus questioned as he stared at Illusion.

"You're in the Northern Cave," Illusion answered as she gestured all around her. "You're currently in a secret lab that I've created 2000 years ago."

"Well I don't think much of your taste in decoration," Pandora scoffed as she looked around the cell.

Illusion laughed a little at this, "well this is a prison cell," she retorted as she turned her attention to Pandora. "What were you expecting a five star suit?" Illusion joked causing her guards to snicker at this.

"What do you want from us?" Pandora demanded as she scowled at Illusion.

"Simple, you're my bargaining chips," Illusion answered as she paced round the cell. "You and your pitiful friends are standing in the way of world domination."

"Of course…" Pandora muttered sarcastically which caused the nearest guard to hit on the back of the head with the barrel of his gun. "Ouch!" Pandora yelled as she rubbed the back of her head.

Illusion gave Pandora a satisfied smile, "But that isn't possible if you continue to oppose me."

"So we're to just back off and let you take over and destroy what we have worked so hard to rebuild…" Rufus asked calmly as he stared at Illusion showing no hint of fear. "It's WRO policy to not negotiate with terrorists."

Illusion laughed, "oh Rufus Shinra you have such a high opinion of me," she stated half sarcastically as she smirked at him. "I don't want to destroy this world and the people will be safe, they'll just be my slaves. Of course I will slay my enemies and that includes your friends." Illusion summoned a crystal ball, "Would you like to see what's happening to your precious world?" She asked as she held the crystal ball out to the prisoners.

"Do we have a choice?" Pandora questioned in response causing Illusion to laugh again.

"No you don't," she answered. "But you'll love it, it gives me a lot of laughs." As she said this she waved her hand over the crystal ball and an image materialised in it.

Rufus and Pandora looked at the crystal ball and they saw crystal monsters forming all over the world and people screaming in panic as they ran away from the monsters that were attacking the cities. Pandora just gasped in shock when she saw this, "you're a monster…" She uttered as she glared at Illusion.

"Why thank you," Illusion stated deciding to take what Pandora said as a compliment. She waved her hand over the crystal ball again and the images disappeared. "You two are gonna watch as I conquer this world and destroy your friends, and then I'm gonna destroy you both."

"We won't let you do that," Rufus told Illusion as he and Pandora folded their arms defiantly.

"Is that so?" Illusion questioned, "Well you're in a prison cell, you're unarmed. Oh…" she turned to Pandora as she said this next part. "And if you're thinking of using magic to escape don't bother because I put an anti magic bracelet on your wrist." Pandora looked down at her wrist to see a golden band wrapped round it before looking back up at Illusion and glaring at her. "Well I better get going, I have more evil plans to concoct. My guards will be keeping you company," Illusion told the two as she walked to the door of the cell and opened it. "Oh, and if you're good, I may spare your lives when I kill your friends." She added before smirking and leaving the cell. The guards took one look at Pandora and Rufus before they followed Illusion out of the cell and locked the door before patrolling the area.

Pandora sighed before collapsing to her knees, Rufus walked over to her. "We'll get through this," he told her.

Pandora looked up and nodded, "I know," She answered before sighing. "That's twice in one adventure that I've been caught by Illusion, I was hoping not to make a habit out of it." Rufus laughed light heartedly at this, Pandora laughed too for a while before sighing and standing up. "I hope Max and the others are ok." She whispered to herself as she walked over to the door and rested her head on it.

* * *

The Sierra had arrived at the Northern Cave and hovered over it, "alright, we're here." Cid informed the group, "So let's get our asses down there." Cid left the control room and made his way to the deck, the group followed him.

"How are we getting down there?" Yuffie questioned as she looked down into the crater below.

"Same way we bloody did the last time we were here," Cid answered without looking at the ninja. "Climbin' down the ruddy rope ladder now stop with yer bloody questions or I'll hang yer by yer feet behind the Sierra when we return."

"An empty threat…" Yuffie scoffed as she called Cid's bluff.

"Empty huh…" Cid retorted as he turned round to face Yuffie, "you just carry on and we'll see how empty my threat is."

"Come on guys!" Max snapped at the pilot and the ninja, "arguing isn't going to help Pandora and Rufus." He walked over to the edge of the deck where the rope ladder was folded up, Max kicked the rope ladder so that it became unravelled and stopped at the mouth of the crater. "Let's go." He told the group before climbing down the rope ladder.

Reno was about to climb down the rope ladder but he stopped when he saw Tseng stood next to him out of the corner of his eye. Reno turned round so that he could see Tseng more clearly and he saw that the Turk Leader had his arms folded and wasn't really looking at him. "Hey Tseng!" Reno called out to the Turk to try and get his attention. "You ok?"

"Yes," Tseng answered blankly not turning round to face Reno. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Reno continued to question out of concern for Tseng.

"I'm sure," Tseng answered still in that same emotionless manner. He turned round and faced the red haired man. "We have a mission to do," he told Reno quickly changing the subject. "Just keep your mind on it." Tseng continued as he walked over to the rope ladder and began to climb down it, Reno just stared at the rope ladder in shock.

"_I wonder what's up with Tseng," _Reno thought to himself as he continued to look at the rope ladder. _"Something's wrong but Tseng's just not saying anything…that's odd even for Tseng. I guess I better keep an eye on him." _ Reno snapped out of his thoughts and he too climbed down the rope ladder

The group climbed down the rope ladder one by one until they were all at the top of the crater. Cid took out his mobile and dialled the Sierra's number, "keep the Sierra in the air so we can make a quick getaway once we've rescued Pandora and Rufus." Cid told the technician that answered the phone.

"But…we could run out of power…" The technician told Cid.

Max walked over to Cid, "those power crystals have an infinite power source inside them," Max informed the technician down the phone. "The Sierra can stay in the air forever, plus they're environmentally friendly."

"How's he talking to me?" The technician questioned down the phone.

"It's on loud speaker," Cid answered. "Just remember to keep the Sierra in the air for when we get back," Cid reminded the technician.

"Sure," The technician responded. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Cid replied gratefully. "Cid out," Cid hung up on his mobile and turned to the rest of the group. "Well the Sierra's still in the air so we can make a quick getaway."

"Let's go," Cloud commanded the group and they slowly made their way down through the crater. They walked through the winding caves fighting several monsters along the way and they eventually reached the area where the path split into two directions.

"Hmmmm…" Max mused as he looked from one path to the other as he remembered the last time he was here. "Which way should we go?"

"Well it wouldn't matter in the long run as both paths lead to the same place," Red answered as he looked up at Max. "However, since this is a rescue mission I would suggest that we take the right path it is quicker and not so many enemies to slow us down."

"Thanks," Max replied gratefully as he smiled at Red.

"Any time," Red answered as he bowed his head slightly.

"Ok, let's go right," Max told the group and he started to walk towards the right. The rest of the group followed him and they made their way down the spiral path, Reno was last in line and he stopped as soon as he heard the sound of a gunshot and saw a bullet fly right passed his ear out of the corner of his eye.

"What the…" Reno yelled as the bullet narrowly missed him and landed in the far wall. "Very funny…" Reno muttered as he rolled his eyes before looking at his friends. "Who fired a bullet at me?"

Everyone began talking among themselves before looking over at Tseng to find that he was holding his gun in his hand. "Why is everyone looking at me?" He questioned as he looked at everyone, "don't think that I shot at Reno just because I'm holding a gun in my hand." He continued as he held his gun up.

Reno and Elena gave Tseng suspicious stares, "well if it wasn't you then who was it?" Reno demanded, "no one else has a gun out and I don't see any enemies around."

"I think Tseng might be telling the truth," Isis spoke up causing everyone to stare at her.

"How do you know?" Yuffie questioned as she gave Isis a sceptical stare.

"Based on the angle of the bullet lodged in the wall I'd say that it was fired from behind," Isis answered as she pointed at the bullet. "And Tseng is at least a good foot in front of Reno. So Tseng couldn't have fired the bullet."

"If it wasn't Tseng then who was it?" Elena questioned wanting to know who shot at Reno.

"My sensors are picking up some unidentified life signals," Isis replied as she looked at the group.

"Mine too," Lance replied as he looked around him. "The assailant maybe…"

"That and more," Isis answered. "I'm detecting more than one life sign."

"ALRIGHT YOU SNEAKY BASTARD!" Reno yelled at the top of his lungs as he looked all around him trying to find the one who tried to shoot him. "YOU BETTER SHOW YOURSELF!" There was silence as the group looked all around them and took out their weapons just as several forms began to materialise out of nowhere to reveal Deep Ground and Dark Kitsune soldiers. The soldiers had the group completely surrounded.

"An ambush," Max remarked as he looked at all the soldiers. "Illusion must've known we were coming and sent out the welcoming committee."

"All in favour of turning back and going down the left path…" Yuffie stated in fear as she held her hand up.

"There'll be enemies waiting for us there as well," Vincent told Yuffie as he loaded his gun and pointed it at the Dark Kitsune that was nearest to him.

"What I want to know is how the hell they managed to sneak up on us like that…" Barret uttered confused at the whole thing.

"They must be wearing cloaking devices," Drogo answered as he looked at the man with the gun arm. "It enables the wearer to become invisible at the touch of a button.

"You know so damn much abou' it!" Barret yelled at Drogo.

"I used to have a cloaking device myself back in my thieving days," Drogo admitted. "If it's one thing I know it's stealth technology."

"But the Dark Kitsunes aren't wearing cloaking devices," Tifa remarked as she pointed that the Dark Kitsune closest to her and the group saw that there was no cloaking device attached to the Dark Kitsune's belt.

"Dark Kitsunes have the natural ability to become invisible at will," Nightshade answered. "Which makes them so tricky to track and kill them."

"We have you surrounded," one of the Deep Ground Soldiers (obviously the leader) spoke up as the Deep Ground Soldiers and the Dark Kitsunes pointed their guns at the group, this caused the group to fall silent. "Surrender now and we'll spare your lives."

"How do we know you won't just kill us anyway?" Max questioned as he gave the Deep Ground Soldier a sceptical stare.

"The lives of your friends depend on it," the Deep Ground Soldier answered as he walked closer to Max and pointed his gun at his head. "And I believe that one of the captives is your wife." Max stared at the Deep Ground Soldier in shock for a moment before the soldier smirked under his helmet. "That's right, if you really care about your wife's wellbeing then don't make any rash moves. Of course, I could just kill you," the soldier continued as he held his gun closer to Max's head. "That would break your wife's heart in the process, she'll become a broken shell and be easier to control."

Max growled under his breath but he managed to keep his cool, he knew that the soldier was goading him, trying to get a reaction out of him. But Max wasn't going to react at all, he wasn't going to show his emotions to the enemy, that would just give them more ammunition. Max slowly lifted his head up and stared at the soldier, there was no fear in his eyes. "You think that I'm afraid of a lowly soldier and his gun…" Max uttered calmly showing no hint of fear. "Go ahead, shoot." Max told the soldier.

Everyone just stared at Max in shock, "Max, what are you doing…" Cloud whispered to the Kitsune.

Max said nothing, he continued to stare at the soldier. Even though he knew that he was staring death in the face he wasn't afraid of it, not any more. He had faced death many times before and it was no longer a new experience for him. "Go on, shoot me," Max continued to order the soldier still in that eerily calm voice which was beginning to scare his friends.

"What's he doing?" Sunny questioned Nightshade.

"I think he's calling their bluff," Nightshade answered his eyes showed a hint of fear for the first time in his life. A fear that Max was going to do something stupid, nevertheless he watched to see how it would work out.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Max questioned the soldier as his friends and his enemies continued to stare at him. "Shoot me, I'm not afraid." The soldier continued to hold his gun at Max's head his finger poised at the trigger, he just stared at Max his face indifferent and showing no hint of fear and this unnerved the soldier so much so that he hesitated. Max saw the soldier hesitate and with swift reflexes he elbowed the soldier in the stomach stunning him before successfully disarming him with an upper cut before summoning his sword and pointing it at the soldier's throat.

The soldier was in too much shock to even fight back and stood there and watched as Max performed a powerful round house kick on the soldier completely snapping his neck. The soldier stood there for a moment still in shock before falling to the ground dead. The other Dark Kitsune and Deep Ground soldiers saw this and stared at Max in shock before pointing their guns at the rest of the group and advancing towards them.

Nightshade summoned his sword and held it in both his hands, he stood there patiently and watched as a Dark Kitsune decided to attack using his claws rather than his gun and charged at Nightshade. "Humph…" the Kitsune huffed and smirked evilly before swinging his sword round horizontally cutting the Dark Kitsune cleanly in half before he even had chance to get to Nightshade. However because Nightshade was wielding a heavy weapon it took it a while to swing full circle and return to it's original position leaving Nightshade open to attack.

A sabre wielding Deep Ground Soldier saw this weakness and crept up behind Nightshade in an attempt to exploit it. The Deep Ground Soldier was about to stab Nightshade in the back with his sabre but he was pelted by armour piercing bullets, which easily broke through his bulletproof vest. The Deep Ground Soldier looked at his assailant before collapsing to the ground lying head first in a pool of his own blood. "You really need to watch your back," a familiar voice warned Nightshade before Isis walked up to him holding two magnums.

Nightshade smirked at his friend, "thanks for the advice," he replied gratefully before charging at his next opponent.

"You're welcome," Isis replied as she saw two Dark Kitsunes open fire at her. She easily dodged the bullets and smirked at the two Dark Kitsunes. "My turn," she stated mockingly as she leapt into the air and flipped while opening fire at Dark Kitsunes with her magnums. She was so fast with the guns that the Dark Kitsunes barely had time to dodge before they were both hit in the neck killing them instantly. Isis landed gracefully on her feet (like cats do). She looked down at the two bodies and smirked again before blowing on her two magnums. "That's how you use guns."

Meanwhile Lance and Cid were stood back to back as they were surrounded by a circle of enemies. "Looks like we're outnumbered huh…" Cid spoke to Lance without facing him. "I didn't think there'd be this many."

Lance merely smirked, "they may have superior numbers, but we have superior skill." Lance told Cid, "and in the grand scheme of things, that's what's important."

"Yeah, you're right," Cid agreed as he nodded. "How do you propose we get rid of these jackasses?" Lance's smirk grew even wider and he turned sideways away from Cid, Cid looked at Lance and seemed to guess what he was planning as he turned sideways opposite to where Lance was facing. The two held their spears in one hand as they each grabbed the other's hand and began to spin as the enemies started to charge at them. Cid and Lance spun round faster and faster striking each enemy with their spears as they spun. They could hear several pained yells as more enemies fell and when Lance and Cid stopped spinning and released hands they saw dozens of dead Dark Kitsunes and Deep Ground Soldiers lying in a circle round them. "Now that's what I call devastating Cid yelled as he smirked at Lance.

Elena was backed up against the wall shooting at the enemies that advanced on her. One Deep Ground Soldier got close to her and slashed her leg with his sabre causing her cry out in pain. The Deep Ground Soldier laughed before he was hit from behind with a blunt object and was electrocuted on impact. The Soldier fell to the ground stunned before Tseng and Rude both shot at him killing him. Reno ran over to Elena, "Elena are you ok?" He asked out of concern for his comrade.

"Yeah," Elena answered, she looked down at her leg and sighed.

Reno also looked down, "it doesn't look too bad," he replied as he smiled at her. "Nothing a cure spell wouldn't fix," he added as he took out a piece of green materia and held it close to the wound. "Cure," he whispered and a green coloured light criss-crossed through the wound and when the light had disappeared the wound was gone.

"Thanks Reno," Elena replied gratefully as she hugged him and kissed him unaware that Tseng was watching. She released Reno and they moved away from the wall.

Max backstabbed a Dark Kitsune killing him instantly before quickly removing the sword and thrusting it into the stomach of a Deep Ground Soldier that was advancing towards him. Max smirked as he removed his sword and the Deep Ground Soldier fell to the ground. The Northern Cave now resembled a bloodbath as there were countless bodies littered all over the floor as the soldiers were either killed or had fled. The group panted as they looked around at the dead bodies. "I'm glad that's over," Aerith stated in relief as she still breathed heavily.

"These are mere fodder, the real fight is still ahead of us," Max reminded the group. "We still have a while to go, we need to find the entrance to the secret lab and rescue Pandora and Rufus." The group continued down the spiral path until they reached the Lifestream geyser and the cavern was illuminated by a pale green glow.

"It's so nice to see the Life Stream pure again," Tifa stated as she smiled at the Holy green light. "I was so worried when it was corrupted."

"Yeah, I almost forgot how beautiful it was." Cloud agreed as he wrapped his arm round Tifa. "We're so lucky."

"Yo lovebirds!" Barret yelled at the two causing them to look at him. "This ain't the time fer sight seein', we've got a job to do."

"We're coming," Tifa called out to Barret before sighing. "I'll be glad when all this is over," Tifa admitted as she turned back to Cloud. "Then we can get back to our lives and do what we want without a care in the world."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed as he smiled at her. "When all this is over we should go on vacation, I know I've been saying it for a while now but I mean it this time."

Tifa smiled weakly at Cloud before shaking her head, "I'd love to go on vacation," Tifa told Cloud before turning away from him. "But, we have so many commitments, we have the bar."

"Hire a barmaid," Cloud replied as he looked at Tifa's back.

Tifa turned back round to face Cloud, "you have your delivery service." She continued.

"I'll get Zack to cover for me," Cloud answered quickly as he had already thought about his response.

"And what about Marlene and Denzel?" Tifa questioned. "We can't exactly leave them with a neighbour, it isn't fair."

"We'll take them with us," Cloud told Tifa as he smiled at her. "They deserve a vacation as much as we do." Tifa merely sighed, "Look," Cloud started to say as he walked over to the raven haired woman and wrapped his arms round her waist. "You've spent so much time looking after other people, me, Marlene and Denzel…the list goes on. You've been so busy looking after us that you've hardly had anytime to yourself," he continued to tell her. "If anyone deserves a vacation Tifa, it's you. Be a little selfish for once in your life, take a little 'me' time."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to think about myself for a while," Tifa stated as she smiled at Cloud. "And we both could do with a vacation, and Marlene and Denzel too."

Cloud smiled at Tifa and was about to respond when Zack appeared behind them and placed his hands on both their shoulders. "It's great that you're both talkin' about vacations an' all, but why don't you make your vacation plans after all this is over?" Zack questioned the two as he smirked at them.

"You're right Zack," Cloud agreed with his friend. "We have a job to do first, it's up to us to rid the Planet of Illusion."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "let's get going." Tifa, Cloud and Zack walked over to the group who were stood outside a wall. "What are you looking at?" Tifa questioned.

"According to my secret passage detector there is a secret passage way beyond this wall," Shelke answered as she held a strange looking device to the wall.

"But how do we open it?" Max questioned as he looked at the young girl.

"The device is also detecting some sort of lock that is hidden to the right of the wall," Shelke informed him as she moved the device away. "But, I can't figure out how to make it appear."

"Hmmm…" Max mused as he stepped closer to the wall. "I wonder," he continued to muse as he gently waved his hand over the wall that was slightly to the right and was surprised to see a green coloured hand symbol appear.

"Amazing…" Shelke uttered as she stared at the symbol in surprise.

"That's a funny lookin' lock," Yuffie muttered as she rolled her eyes. "I mean how are we supposed to activate it?"

"I've seen this type of lock before," Max answered as he examined it more closely. "It's a psyche lock."

"A what?" Avalanche, the Turks and Shelke uttered at the same time as they stared at Max in surprise.

"A psyche lock," Max repeated the name of the lock. "It's a special type of lock that Kitsunes and Dark Kitsunes use to keep their valuable possessions and secret passageways secure." Max explained to them, "Only Kitsunes and Dark Kitsunes can use them."

"So how does it work?" Aerith asked as she gave Max a curious stare.

"I have to place my hand over the symbol and telepathically unlock it by solving the puzzle inside it." He answered.

"And you can unlock this…" Reno questioned as he gave Max a sceptical stare.

Max merely smirked, "just leave it to me," he told the group. "I'll have it open in no time." Max turned back to the door and placed his hand on the symbol, his eyes flashed before glazing over as he saw a series of locks in his mind and he worked to telepathically unlock them one at a time. It was a complex and delicate process which required a lot of concentration, one false move and the lock reset itself and Max would've had to start over. However Max had become such an expert at these types of locks that he was able to unlock it without making a single mistake.

Max could hear a ding sound in his head and his eyes returned to normal before he removed his hand from the symbol. The hand symbol glowed and there was a low rumbling sound and the ground shook slightly as an outline appeared on the wall at the side of the symbol and that part of the wall swung inwards revealing a passage way. "Whoa…"the group uttered hardly daring to believe that there was even a secret area like this in the Northern Cave.

The group entered the passage way and walked through it, the passage way was fairly large, big enough to fit the whole group in and it seemed to twist and turn at certain points. The group carried on walking through the tunnel until it opened out into a large cavernous room. The group looked around and stared in awe at the clear crystalline walls, they looked up and saw a decorative chandelier which seemed to be emitting a soft blue glow that radiated throughout the entire room. At the far end of the room there was a decorative looking archway with a door underneath it which led deeper into the cave.

The group walked to the other side of the room and walked through the archway to find themselves in another tunnel but it was shorter than the other one and they found themselves in an even larger cavern. They looked around and saw all kinds of strange equipment and apparatus which looked like they belonged in a lab, however the equipment didn't look like it had come from this world, it looked much too advanced. "A secret lab…" Vincent uttered as he stared at the equipment in disgust, "how could there be a secret lab down here…"

"Maybe it was built into the cave over the last few years without us noticing," Yuffie suggested, however Max shook his head.

"No," He answered as he walked closer to one of the pieces of equipment and examined it. "This equipment is Dark Kitsune technology, even though it's more advanced than the technology on this world it's still old. Very old."

"How old would you say it is?" Zack questioned as he was intrigued by the technology.

"Well from the looks of the place, I'd say it's about 2000 years old." Max answered as he showed that some of the equipment was derelict and dusty.

"Wait…so you're sayin' that Illusion built this lab 2000 years ago…" Barret questioned as he gave Max a confused look.

Max nodded, "yeah," he answered. "Illusion must've been on this world 2000 years ago."

"How the hell is that even possible?" Cid demanded as he stared at Max.

"Kitsunes and Dark Kitsunes are immortal," he replied a little more irritably than he intended. "Which means they can live forever, unless they're killed."

"Oh good," Cid stated as he heaved a sigh of relief. "I thought you were gonna say that there's no way of killing her."

"Kitsunes and Dark Kitsunes are immortal…" Max repeated his previous statement as he glared at Cid. "Not invincible, now come on, we've wasted enough time as it is." Max stated matter of factly as he walked around the lab trying to find a way out. At the other end of the lab there were two more archways, the one on the right looked quite decorative whereas the other one looked much more plain. Max looked at the two archways and thought. "Hmmmmm…" he mused as he continued to look at them.

"What is it?" Cloud asked as he approached Max.

"There are two archways," Max answered as he pointed to the archways in front of himself and Cloud. "They both lead deeper into the cave but they go off in different directions."

"We need one that leads to the cells," Cloud stated as he looked at the two archways. "Question is, which one?"

"I think the one on the left leads to the cells because it's all plain looking." Max theorised, "but the one on the right looks really decorative so that probably leads to Illusion's personal quarters."

"Well maybe Illusion's probably playing tricks on us," Cloud also came up with a theory.

"Nah," Max replied as he shook his head. "Illusion wouldn't want her minions entering her private quarters by mistake so she deliberately made the archway leading to her quarters more decorative."

"So we go left?" Cloud asked as he looked at Max.

"Yeah," Max answered as he nodded.

Meanwhile Aerith had begun exploring the lab much more closely and she spotted several tubes at the far corner of the room. She walked over to them and saw that most of them were empty, however she walked over to the furthest one and she saw a mutated man in there. He was floating in the stasis liquid and looked like he was asleep. "What is this?" She questioned as she placed her hand on the side of the tank. "Is this one of Illusion's twisted experiments?" Aerith didn't have time to question it any further as a hand suddenly reached out and smashed through the glass causing the stasis liquid to start draining out. "Aaaaaaaaahhhh!" Aerith yelled in fright as she jumped back causing everyone to look around and see what the commotion was.

"Aerith!" Zack called out as he ran over to the Cetra, Aerith continued to back away as the mutated man broke out of the tube and slowly walked towards her dripping wet. He walked a few paces before he collapsed to the floor lifeless.

Zack slowly walked over to the body and knelt down next to it, "be careful Zack," Aerith uttered as she gave the raven haired man a frightened look as he placed two of his fingers on the body's neck.

"It's ok Aerith," Zack reassured the woman as he removed his fingers from the body's neck and stood up. "It's dead," he told her.

"Are you sure?" Aerith questioned as she eyed the body suspiciously.

"I'm sure," Zack answered as he wrapped his arms round Aerith. "Breaking out so suddenly must've been a shock to its system." He explained as he looked back at the broken tube, and saw the liquid all over the floor. "Come on, I think Max and Cloud have figured out a way to get to the prison cells." He told Aerith before taking hold of her hand and taking her back to the group.

"What happened back there?" Sunny questioned as she stared at the two.

"One of Illusion's experiments," Zack answered as he pointed at the dead body. "It broke out of the tube but died a minute later."

"Isn't that one of those mutated Cetra?" Cloud asked as he stared at the body. "Didn't we fight those?"

"Illusion must've forgotten about that one," Aerith replied. "Because the other tubes were empty, anyway, which way do we go?"

"Left," Max answered as he started to walk through the left archway. The others followed and they found themselves in another long tunnel which seemed to lead further down and the tunnel became less decorative the further down the group went. _"Hang on Pandora, I'm coming." _Max thought to himself as he started to run down the tunnel.

Meanwhile Pandora was pacing round the cell, "where's Max?" She questioned half to herself as she continued to pace round the cell. "I thought he'd be here by now."

"You need to be patient Pandora," Rufus stated calmly as he watched her pace round.

"You're so calm for saying we're in danger," Pandora uttered as she stopped pacing for a moment and stared at Rufus.

"This isn't the first time I've been taken hostage," Rufus answered as he looked back at Pandora. "You learn to be calm in situations like these."

"I guess…" Pandora muttered and with a sigh she resumed pacing round the cell again.

Back in the tunnel the group managed to get to the very end of the tunnel and they saw the cells that were being patrolled by guards. "Guards…" Lance whispered as he saw Dark Kitsunes patrolling the area.

"Figures…" Max muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes. "Which cell are Pandora and Rufus being held in?" He questioned as he saw that the first few cells were empty. "Damn it…" He cursed quietly so that the guards couldn't hear him. "We're never gonna get close enough, not without the guards catching us…unless…Drogo…" Max called out his friend's name.

"Yeah…" Drogo answered as he walked over to Max.

"You still have that cloaking device of yours right?" Max asked as he stared hopefully at Drogo.

"Yeah," Drogo answered as he pointed to a button on his belt. "Why?"

"Because I need you to use your stealth to get rid of the guards so we can get to Pandora and Rufus," Max told Drogo.

"Sure, no problem." Drogo stated as he smirked. "I'll get rid of those guards faster than you can say 'King of Thieves'."

"King of Thieves," Zack said suddenly causing Drogo to stare at him.

"It was just an expression," Drogo stated as he folded his arms.

"Sorry," Zack apologised and he fell silent again.

Drogo merely shook his head before pressing the button on his belt causing him to become invisible. Drogo then crept out of the tunnel and crept up behind the first guard on patrol. When Drogo got closer to the guard he took a knife out of its sheath and when the time was right he stood up and grabbed the guard from behind clamping a hand over his mouth to stop him from crying out before slitting his throat. Drogo then released the body and moved on to the next one.

After a while Drogo had killed all the guards and pushed the button on his device making himself visible again. He looked over at Max before signalling with his hand for Max to come over. Max ran over to Drogo and smirked at him. "Nice," he stated as he looked down at the bodies. "They didn't even suspect a thing."

"For now," Drogo whispered to Max. "But it won't be long before their deaths are noticed, we'd better make our move fast."

"Right," Max agreed as he and Drogo looked in each cell to find Rufus and Pandora. The first few cells were empty but they approached one and saw Pandora and Rufus in there. "Pandora…" Max called into the cell causing the raven haired woman to look up at him.

"Max…" Pandora uttered as she walked over to the door of the cell. "I knew you'd come."

"Of course," Max answered as he put his hand threw the bars and took hold of Pandora's hand. "I wouldn't leave you to rot in a place like this, I love you too much."

"I love you too," Pandora stated as she smiled at Max.

"Stand back," Max warned Pandora as he let go of Pandora's hand and brought his hand back through the bars.

"What are you going to do?" Pandora questioned as she stared at Max.

"You'll see," Max answered, "you'd better get out of the way too Rufus." Max warned the president of the WRO. Rufus gave Max a confused stare but he moved to a safe part of the cell as did Pandora.

Max also stepped back from the cell door and his body glowed a pale green colour as he felt his psychic energy surge through him. "Max…" Drogo called out Max's name. Max said nothing as he continued to build up his psychic energy. "Max!" Drogo yelled but louder.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he released his psychic energy causing the door to be ripped off its hinges and be thrown to the back of the cell crashing into the rear wall. Max breathed deeply as he knelt down on the floor slightly exhausted.

"You know, one of the guards did have the key to the cell," Drogo told Max as he held up a key.

"Not my style…" Max uttered as he continued to breathe deeply.

Drogo shook his head as Pandora and Rufus walked out of the cell. Pandora ran over to Max and knelt down beside him. "Drogo did have a point," She stated agreeing with Drogo. "It would've been easier and less draining to use the key."

"Yeah…I guess…" Max answered as he looked up at Pandora. "As long as you're ok, that's all that matters to me."

Pandora helped Max up and hugged him and the two kissed. "Ehem…" Rufus cleared his throat causing the two to stop kissing and stare at him. "As much as I'm enjoying seeing you two tongue wrestle there's still the matter of getting out of here."

"Yeah, you're right Rufus," Max stated agreeing with the ginger haired man. "Come on, everyone else is waiting." The three ran through the corridor and returned to the others who were waiting for them in the tunnel.

"Mr President," Tseng spoke to Rufus in his usual manner. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Rufus answered as he smiled at the Turk. "We must return to the surface so that we can get rid of those creatures that are attacking the Planet."

"Very well sir," Tseng replied as he saluted. Without another word the group ran back through the tunnel and ended up in the lab area again. The group carried on running until they ended up in the entrance hall.

"We made it," Max uttered in relief as he smiled at Pandora. "We just need to…" Max was cut off in midsentence as evil laughter echoed round them.

The group looked around and they saw Illusion walking through the tunnel flanked by Sephiroth, Weiss, Balthazar, Scarlet and several Dark Kitsunes. "My, this has turned out to be quite a show," Illusion stated as she smirked at Max.

"How did you…" Max uttered as he stared at Illusion in shock.

"Know you were coming…" Illusion finished Max's sentence for him. "Simple, I knew that you'd come to Pandora's aid if she was in danger." She laughed, "You're so predictable. Did you honestly think that I'd leave the place fairly unguarded for long?"

"You mean…you planned this…" Tifa questioned as she stared at Illusion.

"That's right," Illusion answered as she continued to smirk. "I let you break the prisoners out to a point, of course now I can reveal that the Pandora that's currently with you isn't the real Pandora."

"What?!" Max yelled as he looked at Pandora who was next to him and back at Illusion.

"She is merely a copy that I created while the real Pandora was unconscious," Illusion replied. "She is merely an illusion programmed to behave exactly as the real Pandora was."

"So…we rescued a fake…" Max uttered hardly daring to believe it.

"That's right," Illusion answered as she gave Max a triumphant smile. "And you fell for it," she laughed. "You're so gullible."

The fake Pandora also smirked before walking passed Max and disappearing in front of the group. They all gasped in shock, "that can't be possible…" Yuffie uttered in shock.

"Highly illogical…" Isis stated as she somehow managed to remain calm.

"Where's Pandora?!" Max yelled as he glared at Illusion again.

"Very well," Illusion answered before snapping her fingers and moving to the side as two guards marched into the entrance dragging Pandora.

"PANDORA!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he started to run towards her but the other guards blocked his path.

"MAX!" Pandora screamed as she struggled against her captors' grip.

"What are you gonna do to her?!" Max demanded as he glared at Illusion again, his hands were balled into fists and were shaking violently.

Illusion laughed, "Don't worry, I won't hurt her." She answered as she walked over to Pandora, "I like her, she's feisty. She'd make a perfect addition to my army, don't you think?"

"I won't let that happen," Max stated stubbornly as he tried to get passed the guards. "I won't let you brainwash her!"

Illusion smirked at Max, "well I won't be doing anything to her yet. We shall be moving to another location, if you really love your wife you will come to my castle on the Dark Kitsune World."

"Dark Kitsune World…" Max repeated Illusion's last words, Illusion nodded and her grin grew wider as her guards began to teleport one by one. "WAIT!" Max yelled as he ran towards Illusion but she warped along with the guards that were holding Pandora. Max skidded to a stop and looked at the spot where Pandora was stood before and sighed.

"What's our next move?" Reno questioned as he stared at Max.

Max sighed again and stood still for a few seconds before turning to look at the group. "We go after them," was all he said before he walked passed the group towards the tunnel that led back to the Northern Cave.

"But how?" Elena questioned as she looked at Max. "We don't have a spaceship."

"We'll think of something," Rufus answered as he smiled at Elena. "We won't let Illusion win, I just can't believe that I was sharing a cell with an illusion."

"So where was Pandora kept?" Tifa questioned.

"That's something we can ask her later," Max replied as he turned round to face the group again. "Right now she's in trouble and needs our help, we have to save her before Illusion turns her into one of her soldiers." Max shuddered as he thought of Pandora being one of Illusion's soldiers. "Let's head back to the Sierra," he commanded as he ran back through the tunnel. Everyone else followed and they quickly made their way back to the Sierra, as soon as everyone was on board the airship took off and everyone including Rufus and Reeve were stood on the bridge.

"What are your orders captain?" One of the technicians asked as he looked at Cid.

Cid said nothing and he looked at Max, "well, Pandora's your wife so it's your call," he told the Kitsune.

Max walked over to the window and looked out, "we find a way to get to the Dark Kitsune World," he said quickly without even thinking about it. He didn't need to, Pandora was in danger and he needed to save her quickly.

"But we don't have a spaceship," another technician spoke up, "and building one can take years."

Max turned round and scowled at the technician," we don't have years!" Max snapped at the technician causing them to shrink back in fear. "We don't even have days…" Max added a little softer.

"They have a point Max," Rufus replied as he walked over to the Kitsune. "If we knew that the Pandora was a fake sooner we would've been able to save the real Pandora."

"But we didn't," Max stated as he sighed sadly. "We didn't know and now Pandora's in serious danger…" Max hung his head and closed his eyes believing that all hope is lost when he suddenly remember something. "That's it!" He yelled suddenly causing everyone to look up and stare at him.

"What's it?" Aerith questioned.

"Why didn't I remember it before?" Max asked half to himself as he walked over to Cid. "We do have a means of travelling through space, I just completely forgot about it."

"I don't follow you," Sunny stated as she along with the others gave Max a confused stare.

"When I upgraded the Sierra, I put another mode in," Max continued to explain. "Cid," Max called out the pilot's name as he turned round to look at him. "Remember that button that I told you not to press?"

"Yeah," Cid answered as he looked down at the button.

"Push it," Max ordered.

Cid pushed the button and the Sierra shook as it began to change, the thrusters became larger and two more emerged out of the Sierra as it transformed into a spaceship and took off so that it was leaving the planet. The group looked out of the window and stared in awe at the stars and the planet that was now below them. "Wow!" Tifa exclaimed.

Cid laughed, "I like this upgrade!" He yelled as he smirked at Max, "now I can go into space whenever I want. Now…how do we get to the Dark Kitsune World?" He questioned as he looked at Max.

Max pushed a button on the control panel and a holographic map appeared, "this is a map of the galaxy," Max started to explain. "Your world is here," he pointed to a planet on the map. "These are planets that we haven't discovered yet, "the Kitsune World is here." He pointed to the Kitsune World, "there's Terra Firma," he pointed to another planet on the map. "And the Dark Kitsune World is here," he stated as he pointed to the Dark Kitsune World, "normally it would take two months to get there from our current position, but thankfully I installed a hyperdrive so all I have to do is type in the co-ordinates," he continued to explain as he typed in the co-ordinates for the Dark Kitsune World. "We're still quite near the planet so we'll have to wait until we're at a safe distance before we activate the hyperdrive." Cid steered the now converted Sierra further away from the planet and as soon as it was a safe distance away Max activated the hyperdrive and the Sierra travelled to the Dark Kitsune World at super speed.

* * *

Meanwhile in Illusion's castle Pandora was taken to a room where there was a strange looking chair in the centre. Pandora was dragged to the chair and was forced into it before she was strapped down to it. Hojo walked up to her and started to pace round her, "so beautiful, you'd make a fine experiment," he told Pandora as he stroked the side of her face.

"Don't touch me…" she uttered in a disgusted tone as she scowled at Hojo.

"She is too valuable to be one of your experiments Hojo," Illusion uttered as she walked over to Pandora. "Now go and prepare the injection." Illusion ordered.

"Of course," Hojo stated as he bowed before walking to another part of the room.

"What are you going to do to me?" Pandora demanded as she looked up at Illusion.

"Simple my dear, I'm going to turn you into one of my soldiers," Illusion answered as she smirked at Pandora. "You'll be asleep for the whole process but when you wake up, you'll remember nothing of your former life, you will be my puppet. But don't worry, you won't be just any lowly soldier, I'll make sure you're of a high rank."

"I'll never become your soldier!" Pandora spat as she struggled wildly.

"Struggle all you want," Illusion stated calmly. "You won't get out of here, I'm already well on the way to conquering Cloud's world, once I've conquered that pitiful planet I'll move on to the Kitsune World and you're going to help me conquer it whether you like it or not."

Pandora struggled even more wildly as Hojo walked over to her holding a needle and he stabbed it into her neck and pushed down on the plunger as the liquid entered her blood stream. Pandora wanted to scream but she couldn't make a sound as it felt like her was throat tightening, "sweet dreams…" Pandora could just about hear Hojo's voice as she drifted into unconsciousness. Illusion and Hojo laughed as Illusion grabbed a strange looking helmet and placed it on Pandora's head. She pushed a button on the side of the helmet and a visor fell down covering the top half of Pandora's face.

Illusion walked over to a control panel and pushed a button, Pandora's body jerked slightly as the brainwashing process began. "Soon you'll be my slave, perhaps I'll make you my right hand woman," Illusion stated as she laughed evilly before leaving the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Sierra had reached the Dark Kitsune World thanks to Max's hyperdrive and had landed near a large castle quite far from the nearest town. Everyone except Rufus, Reeve, Shelke and all the technicians got off the ship and looked around to find themselves in a barren wasteland. "How can anyone live here?" Yuffie questioned as she looked around to see desert as far as the eye can see, she looked up at the sky and saw to her surprise that it was permanently dark. "And what's up with the sky?"

"This is the Dark Kitsune World," Max answered as he turned round to look at Yuffie. "Yes it is a barren wasteland but the Dark Kitsunes have adapted to living in extreme environments as a result. The reason why the sky is permanently dark is because the planet itself has a dark essence within it. The Dark Kitsunes can harness and use this power to their own advantage."

"So they have the home team advantage," Cloud stated as he walked over to Max.

"Yeah," Max answered. "And if you do ever come here again, don't drink the water here."

"What if we're really thirsty?" Yuffie asked as she looked down to see a dark coloured river flowing near her.

"Make sure you have plenty of water with you," Max told her. "And don't drink from that river!"

"Oh…but I'm thirsty…" Yuffie moaned as she looked longingly at the river.

"We have plenty of water," Max stated irritably as he gave Yuffie bottle of water. "Besides, if you drink the water here you can get sick from dark power poisoning."

Yuffie greedily drank the water and stared at Max as she stopped drinking and gave the bottle back to Max. "How can the Dark Kitsunes drink it without becoming sick?" She questioned as she gave Max a curious stare.

"They've grown accustomed to it," Max answered as he turned away from Yuffie to look at the castle. "Now come on, we're wasting time. Any minute now Pandora could be…" Max didn't finish his sentence, he didn't have to everyone knew what he meant.

"So this is the castle huh?" Zack asked as he walked over to Max.

"Yeah," Max answered, "this is where Illusion's taken Pandora."

"Well, we're all in this together," Drogo stated as he too walked over to Max and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "And that's how we'll finish it, we're with ya to the end."

Max smiled at Drogo, "thanks Drogo," he replied gratefully. "Alright," let's go." Max stated as he walked up the path to the castle entrance. The rest of the group followed and they entered the castle through the large double doors and were amazed at the large and ornate entrance hall. The rectangular room was lined with black pillars and there was a double staircase at the other end of the hall which led upstairs. There were numerous doors that lead to different areas of the castle.

"So what's the plan of attack?" Isis asked calmly as she looked around at the different doors.

"We split up," Max answered as he looked around. "We're more likely to find Pandora that way, ok. Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena, you all go in one group."

Reno and Elena gave Tseng a nervous glance, it felt awkward working with him but they knew that they had no choice. "Sure…" Reno uttered a little nervously as he looked back at Max again.

"Very well," Tseng stated in his usual calm manner.

"Zack, Aerith, Lance and Angel," Max began to list off the next group. "You guys ok working together?"

"Of course," Lance answered as he nodded.

"Good," Max replied before turning to Barret, Red, Nightshade and Isis. "You guys go together," he told the four. They nodded but said nothing so Max turned away from them. "Vincent, Yuffie, Drogo and Sunny." I need you guys to look in one of the rooms."

"We'll do our best to find Pandora," Sunny promised Max as she smiled at him.

Max smiled back before looking at the remaining people, "Cloud, Tifa and Cid, you guys come with me."

"You've become a right leader now," Cid stated as he stared at Max.

"You guys don't mind do you?" Max asked as he continued to look at them.

"Nah," Cloud answered as he smiled at Max. "Pandora's in trouble, you have every right to take charge. I'd be the same if it was Tifa."

"Really…" Tifa questioned as she smiled at Cloud.

"Of course," Cloud replied as he kissed Tifa on the lips. "You mean everything to me."

"Get a room!" Drogo yelled at the two causing them to scowl at him.

"We should get going," Tifa stated.

"Yeah," Max agreed, "but first I want everyone to be careful," Max started to warn his friends. "This is Illusion's castle after all, anything can happen. We may even find ourselves facing our worst fears and we've gotta be prepared for that." Everyone nodded to show that they understood. "Everyone move out!" Max ordered and the groups went their own separate ways.

Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena entered a room to the left on the lower floor and found themselves in what looked like a dinning room area. "Wow…it looks so elegant…" Elena uttered as she walked over to the table and examined it closely.

"Yeah…for a Dark Kitsune place," Reno added as he looked around the room.

"It's odd," Rude stated in his usual manner.

"We must get going if we're to find Pandora," Tseng ordered the group as he walked passed the dinning room table towards a door at the other side of the room and walked through it.

"Hey Tseng wait up!" Reno called after the lead Turk as he, Elena and Rude ran after him. They went through the door and to their surprise they found that the room was completely empty. "This is weird…" Reno uttered as his voice echoed throughout the empty room.

"Anything can happen," Tseng warned his teammates. "So keep your wits about you." Everyone took their guns out and started to examine the room.

Elena found the door and tried to open it but to her surprise she saw that it was locked, "ok…our only way out is locked."

The four continued to look around, Tseng examined the other side of the room as mist formed all around him. "Reno! Rude! Elena!" Tseng found himself yelling his friends' names as he found himself surrounded by the mist and scrambled frantically as he tried to find a way out. Suddenly the mist had cleared as quickly as it came he looked around and saw that he was to his surprise in Elena's apartment. "What the…" Tseng uttered hardly daring to believe it. "Why am I here?"

Tseng found himself instinctively walking down the corridor as he heard the sound of laughter which grew louder as he walked further down the corridor. He stopped outside a room and he could clearly hear the laughter, Tseng opened the door and found Reno and Elena on Elena's bed kissing each other passionately. "YOU!" Tseng yelled at the top of his lungs as he glared at Reno.

Reno and Elena quickly broke apart and stared at Tseng, "Tseng…" Reno uttered as he gave his friend and superior a nervous look.

"I always knew that you were a womaniser Reno!" Tseng snapped at the red haired Turk. "But I didn't think you'd stoop this low!"

"Tseng please…" Elena begged as she gave Tseng a pleading look. "We're over remember…"

"So you decided to move on to the next guy huh…"

"No…" Elena tried to explain. "Me and Reno…it sort of happened…"

"These things don't just happen…" Tseng muttered under his breath as he pointed his gun at Reno and shot him.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Reno yelled in pain as he grabbed the area he was shot.

"RENO!" Elena yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran to Reno's side.

Tseng stared at Reno in shock, "what have I done?" He asked half to himself before running out of the room.

* * *

While this was happening Elena found herself being surrounded by the same mist that Tseng was and when the mist cleared she found herself in a strange place. "What is this place?" Elena questioned as she walked down what looked like an aisle and she saw her friends sat in chairs all dressed in black. "What's going on?" She questioned again as she looked at her friends.

"We're so sorry for your loss Elena," Tifa spoke up as she walked over to the blonde haired woman and hugged her.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, she couldn't help but feel confused.

"Poor thing," Aerith uttered as she gave Elena a sympathetic look. "She's still in denial."

"In denial about what?" Elena questioned a fourth time becoming increasingly annoyed.

"Reno's death," Aerith answered as she gave Elena a grave stare. "He was shot…remember?"

"Reno's dead!" Elena shouted as she ran to the back of the room where a coffin was lying flat on a table. She got closer to the coffin and looked inside it to see Reno lying there unmoving. "No…" Elena uttered in shock as she staggered back from the coffin and placed her hand over her mouth to stop herself from being sick.

Elena felt a hand touch her shoulder, she turned round and saw Tseng stood behind her with a guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry Elena, I really am…"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Elena screamed at the top of her lungs.

* * *

Reno staggered around as he found himself surrounded by mist and he found that he was in his own apartment. "What the hell…" He uttered as he looked around. "Why am I at my apartment?" As Reno looked around his apartment he entered his room and he saw to his surprise that there were several pictures of him on the wall. "What is this?" He uttered as he looked at all the pictures of himself.

"Do you like it?" A familiar voice spoke to him, Reno turned round and he saw Emma stood in the door way, only she was more creepy looking. "I made it just for you…"

"Emma…" Reno uttered as the woman smiled and entered the room.

"That's right…" Emma answered as she walked closely to Reno and grabbed hold of his wrist tightly.

"Errr…Emma…you're hurting my hand…" Reno let out pained moans as he struggled against Emma's grip.

Emma grinned eerily, "it may hurt now…but it won't hurt for much longer."

"Emma…are you ok?" Reno asked his voice was filled with concern, "I have a feeling that the break up affected you worse than I thought."

"I'm perfectly fine…" Emma answered in that same creepy voice. "Although the breakup broke my last heartstring and caused me to become insane…" She explained as she took out a large butcher knife and pointed it at Reno. "But I'll be fine once we're together again…"

"By killing me…" Reno uttered as he stared nervously at the butcher knife.

"It'll only hurt for a second," Emma reassured Reno in that same eerie voice which far from reassured Reno. "Then we'll both be together forever and ever…I love you Reno…" Emma uttered creepily as her eyes flashed.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Reno yelled as he struggled against Emma's grip, he kicked the knife out of Emma's hand before grabbing hold of her other hand and prying her fingers off his hand. However she dug her fingernails into his wrist which scratched him as they were pulled off.

Once Reno was free he quickly made a run for it out of the room and down the corridor. "Get back here!" Emma yelled as she opened the closet and pulled out a serrated chainsaw and revved it up.

"Shit!" Reno cursed loudly as he heard the sound of the chainsaw and Emma ran out of the room wielding the chainsaw.

"Come on Reno!" Emma yelled manically as she hunted for the red haired man. "This won't hurt a bit!"

Reno quickly ran for the front door and opened it to see Tseng stood there, "Tseng...you've gotta help me…" Reno pleaded as he grabbed his friend's collar. "There's an insane woman wielding a chainsaw on the loose and she wants to kill me…" Tseng said nothing but he took his gun out and pointed it at Reno. "What are you doing…" Reno uttered as he stared at the gun in shock.

"Stay away from Elena…" Tseng threatened as he shot Reno.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Reno yelled in pain as Tseng shot him.

* * *

Rude frantically searched for his friends in the mist when it disappeared and he found himself on a street corner engaged in a fight with a thug. Rude smirked as he dodged one of the thug's punches before punching the thug himself. Rude and the thug continued to throw punches and dodge each others attacks as people stopped what they were doing to watch. "You're goin' down punk," Rude told the thug calmly as he pulled his fist back to punch the thug in the face. However the thug quickly kicked Rude in the face breaking his shades, Rude sighed and pulled the broken shades off his face before reaching into his pocket before patting them frantically to discover that his spare pair of shades were gone. "Huh…" Rude uttered in shock.

"Lookin' for these…" The thug questioned mockingly as he held Rude's shades in his hand.

"How did you get those?" Rude demanded as he glared at the thug.

"I swiped 'em when you weren't lookin'," the thug answered triumphantly as he smirked at Rude.

"Give those back!" Rude yelled at the thug as he charged at him, the thug merely laughed before putting the shades down on the ground and stomping on them with his foot breaking them. Rude stopped in his tracks and stared at the shades in shock.

* * *

All four of them found themselves surrounded by the same mist and when it disappeared they found themselves back in the empty room in Illusion's castle and they saw that everyone was confused and exhausted. Tseng looked around and was relieved to see his friends again, "what happened?" Tseng questioned as he gave his friends confused stares.

"You shot me…" Reno uttered as he held his arm where Tseng had shot him while he was in his illusion. "That's what happened."

"I shot you…" Tseng questioned in shock.

"Yeah," Reno answered. "Fortunately you didn't hit any vital areas."

"Hang on," Elena spoke up as she walked over to Reno and took out a first aid kit. "I'll patch you up." She took a wet cloth out and pressed it on to the wound to stop it from bleeding before removing it and taking out a bandage, she wrapped it gently round the wound and tied it at the end so that it was secure.

"Thanks," Reno replied gratefully as Elena smiled and nodded.

"Any time," Elena stated. "What I want to know is, what that was about…"

Before anyone could answer her question they could hear the sound of evil laughter, the four looked towards the exit and pointed their guns in that direction as a purple light appeared and Scarlet appeared in the room. "So you all survived your fears…" she uttered, "looks like I'll have to take care of you all myself." She added as she got into a fighting stance.

* * *

Meanwhile Zack, Aerith, Lance and Angel entered a room to the right of the lower hall and found themselves in a fancy looking lounge area. "This is the kind of room I want back home," Angel commented as she looked around the room. "Of course, the décor would be brighter and more cheerful," she added as an after thought as she looked around at the dark purple wallpaper and the jet black leather furniture.

"We're in a strange castle on the Dark Kitsune World and all you can think about is decorating our living room…" Lance uttered as he stared at Angel in surprise.

"Well I have to keep everyone's hopes up," Angel stated as she looked at Lance.

"Why don't we wait until all this is over?" Lance suggested as he walked passed Angel and over to the fireplace and looked at it. "Hmmm…" He mused as he examined it more closely, he looked to the right and saw a dragon statue carved into the wall with its tail hanging down. Lance looked at it for a moment before pulling on the tail.

The group could hear a low rumbling sound as the ground shook, "what the hell?" Zack cursed as he held on to the wall to balance himself before looking over at Lance. "What the hell did you do?"

Before Lance could answer the ground continued to shake and the fireplace moved back before sinking into the floor to reveal a staircase. "A secret staircase…" Aerith uttered in awe as the group walked over to where the fireplace was before. "I wonder where it leads."

"There's only one way to find out," Lance answered as he stepped on to the first step.

"You're actually going down there…" Angel uttered as she stared at the secret staircase. "It looks all dark and scary…"

"Don't worry," Lance reassured Angel as he turned round and smiled at her. "You'll be fine, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Besides, Pandora could be down there," Zack added as he stepped down on to the first step next to Lance. "And we can't miss out on a vital chance to rescue her because a posh bunny is afraid of the dark."

"I'm not afraid of the dark!" Angel yelled as she scowled at the raven haired man.

"Prove it," Zack retorted as he smirked at Angel. "Prove that you're not a scaredy bunny." Angel continued to scowl at Zack and she moved her hands to the sheaths attached to her belt itching to get her blades out. "You do know I can regenerate," Zack told her.

Angel sighed before moving her hands away from the sheaths but she still scowled at him. "Come on," Lance spoke up before Angel could say anything. "We're wasting time," Lance walked down the steps and one by one the others followed him.

Angel walked passed Zack, "I'll get you back for your remarks," she whispered in his ear as she walked passed him.

"If it involves cutting me up with those blades of yours, it won't work because I can regenerate." Zack reminded Angel as he smirked at her.

"You'll see," Angel stated evilly as she continued to walk down the stairs.

"No really, what are you gonna do?" Zack questioned a hint of fear in his voice as he followed Angel and Lance down the stairs.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise," Angel answered vaguely as she smirked to herself.

Zack opened his mouth to protest but Aerith got there first, "stop it Zack," she quietly admonished him as she was right behind him.

"But she's scaring me," Zack told Aerith as he pointed at Angel.

"Awww…Are you scared of the little bunny rabbit?" Lance questioned in a mocking tone as he looked back and smirked at Zack.

"Don't mock me fox boy," Zack retorted as he glared at Lance. Lance merely laughed as he turned back round again and carried on walking down the stairs. Zack looked back and saw Aerith scowling at him, "he is mocking me…" he protested as Aerith shook her head.

"Honestly…the way you act sometimes it's like I'm dating a child," Aerith stated as Zack scowled at her.

"Gee thanks…" he uttered in an offended tone.

"Let's just hurry up…" Aerith cut in quickly changing the subject. Zack continued to scowl at Aerith before turning round and following Angel and Lance down the stairs.

After a while the group walked down the last step and looked around to find themselves in what looked like a torture chamber. "What a horrible place," Angel remarked as she looked around at the room and ran her finger along one of the torture devices and looked at the thick dust on her finger. "Not to mention that it's dusty," she added in disgust as she wiped the dust off her finger. "That would've seriously caused the property value of this place to go down."

"Do you have to do this now?" Lance questioned as he stared at Angel.

"But this place could do with a thorough cleaning," Angel answered as she pointed to the dusty areas of the room.

"Well there's a time and a place for that and this is neither the time nor the place." Lance stated with a sigh as he looked round at the room. He walked over to what looked like a rack just as a strange mist surrounded him. "Huh…what's goin' on?" Lance questioned as he looked around for his friends trying hard to remain calm. The mist eventually cleared and Lance found himself strapped to a table, "huh…what is this…where am I?"

"So you're finally awake," a scratchy voice spoke up. Lance looked up and saw Hojo stood over him.

"Hojo…" Lance uttered as he struggled against his bonds but he couldn't break free. "What the hell…what did you do to me?"

"Nothing yet," Hojo answered as he smirked evilly at Lance. "The nanotechnology inside you is absolutely fascinating."

"You examined me while I was unconscious…" Lance uttered in a disgusted tone as his body shuddered at the thought of Hojo touching him.

"You have enhanced speed and strength," Hojo started to explain as he paced round the room. "In fact you are on par with a First Class SOLDIER."

"Yeah, and they were all just pawns in Shinra's games…" Lance spat as he glared at Hojo.

"Hmmm…but the nanites inside you could do with updating," Hojo stated as he took out a needle. "With the new nanite software inside you your strength and speed will be further increased not to mention it would replace your whole skeleton with a metal frame and you'll lose all sense of freewill!" Hojo laughed evilly and this caused Lance to shudder even more. "Now don't worry, this will hurt…a lot!" Hojo laughed again and Lance's screams could be heard as the new nanites were injected into him and the inside of his body felt cold and metallic as his skeleton was replaced with a metal frame and he felt himself slowly losing his freewill.

* * *

Angel looked around and saw Lance struggling against nothing before the same mist surrounded Angel. "Hello!" Angel called out to the group as she ran round in circles in panic. "Can anyone hear me?!" The mist disappeared and Angel carried on running and she bumped into someone. "Sorry about that," Angel apologised as she looked at the person and saw to her surprise that the person was a nurse.

"Miss Angel," the nurse stated as she curtsied towards Angel.

"Why are you doing that?" Angel questioned as she gave the nurse a surprised stare. "Where am I?"

"You poor thing," the nurse answered as she gave Angel a sympathetic look. "I don't blame you for being confused what with Lance being in here."

"Lance is here!" Angel yelled in panic as she gave the nurse a worried stare.

"Yes," the nurse replied.

Before the nurse could say anything else Angel ran down the corridor until she reached a room and ran through the door where she saw Lance lying in a hospital bed. He was shirtless and he had countless wires connected to him. He was in an extremely bad way and was connected to a life support machine. "Lance…" Angel whispered the man's name as she walked closer to the bed, however he didn't respond. "Lance…" Angel uttered again as she grabbed hold of his hand.

The nurse entered the room and saw her, "miss Angel, I'm really sorry to have to tell you this…"

"Tell me what?" Angel questioned as she turned round to give the nurse a worried glance.

"The doctors did everything they could," the nurse started to explain, both her voice and expression were sad. "But Lance's body rejected the nanites that were put inside him…"

"What?!" Angel uttered in shock, "but they told me that the chance of Lance rejecting the nanites were slim."

"Unfortunately that's what happened," the nurse told Angel. "We think it was because he was too weak and that the injuries were too severe for the nanites to repair."

"You mean…" Angel started to say but she stopped herself not wanting to think about it.

"I'm afraid so," the nurse stated sadly. "The life support machine is keeping him alive but I don't see any hope for him. However we won't turn the life support machine off without your say so."

Angel stared at the nurse too shocked to speak, she looked back at Lance tears streaming down her face. She took hold of his hand before resting her head in his chest and she cried. After a while she stood up and looked at the nurse with tear stained eyes. "Do it," she whispered sadly.

"Are you sure?" The nurse questioned.

"Yes," Angel answered as she walked out of the room, she looked through the window and watched as the nurse turned Lance's life support machine off. Not wanting to watch anymore she turned round and ran down the corridor.

* * *

Zack looked around trying to find a way out of the room when he was surrounded by the white mist and when the mist disappeared he found himself at the bottom of a hill. "Huh.." Zack uttered as he looked all around him. "Where am I?" Zack started to climb up the hill and he when he reached the top he saw Midgar in the far distance.

"That's Midgar!" He exclaimed as he took a closer look at the city. "But…Midgar was destroyed…what is this?

Zack didn't have much time to look around as he could hear the sound of shouting and gunshots as several men in uniforms that looked very familiar to Zack started running towards him. "There he is!" The captain yelled as the soldiers pointed their guns at Zack.

"Shinra soldiers…" Zack stated as he gave the soldiers a confused stare. "Shinra was disbanded…what the hell's goin' on?!" He didn't really have time to look for an answer as the soldiers were shooting at him. Zack called his sword from his dimension and started to fight off the soldiers.

Zack managed to dodge the bullets and slay the soldiers but for everyone that he killed several more took their place. "Shit!" He cursed as he swung his sword round, "they're everywhere!"

Zack resumed fighting the soldiers and he managed to wipe most of them out, however he was exhausted. "Phew…" Zack sighed with relief as he looked at all the dead bodies. "I finally got 'em all…" Zack suddenly looked up as he heard the sound of shouting and three more soldiers charged at him and opened fire at him. Zack winced and cried out in pain as he looked down and saw several bullet wounds in his stomach, blood oozing out of the wounds.

Zack suddenly felt sick and dizzy, he looked up at the soldiers with slowly blurring vision as they continued to pump bullets into him. Zack's pained screams echoed throughout the entire plains as he fell to the ground with numerous bullet holes in his chest. Zack looked up and saw the three soldiers stood over him reloading their submachine guns. _"This is it…" _Zack thought to himself as he continued to look up at the soldiers his eyes were wide with fear. The soldiers smirked at Zack before pumping bullets into him, Zack screamed at the top of his lungs as his vision faded to black.

* * *

Aerith looked around in confusion as she was completed surrounded by white, her friends were nowhere to be seen. "Zack!" Aerith yelled loudly as she stood on her tiptoes and listened for her boyfriend's voice. "Angel! Lance!" Aerith called out her friends' names as she ran this way and that trying to find her companions. "Where are you guys?!" She continued to yell but all that followed was an eerie silence which frightened her and she clasped her hands tightly to her chest and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes she saw that the endless white had disappeared and she found herself in a very familiar place. "The City of the Ancients…" she whispered as she looked up at the crystalline buildings. "But why am I here?" She questioned becoming more confused than ever. However when she didn't receive any answers she walked down the street until she reached the middle of the city and found herself staring at the altar which held so many bad memories for her. "Why am I here of all places?" She questioned again as she looked at the altar with a mixture of pain and fear.

Aerith continued to look at the altar in fear but she found herself instinctively walking towards the edge of the lake. She then leapt on to the first pillar and leapt from pillar to pillar until she landed on the altar. She walked over to the railing on looked into the lake below to find that the White Materia was still there exactly where it had landed when she was killed. Aerith was so busy looking at the White Materia that she didn't notice that someone had crept up behind her until she was grabbed from behind.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Aerith screamed as she lashed out at her attacker trying to throw the person off her, but Aerith's attack was too strong and they picked her up and threw her into the middle of the altar. Aerith landed hard on her back side and shook her head before looking up just as a figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal a man with long silver hair and glowing green eyes. "Sephiroth…" Aerith uttered in shock. "What are you doing here? How dare you enter the sacred city of my people!" Aerith yelled this last part feeling a little braver.

Sephiroth merely laughed, "you've become a lot braver since the last time we met Cetra," Sephiroth spoke in both an admirable and mocking tone at the same time as he smirked evilly at Aerith.

Aerith stood up and glared at Sephiroth, "the least you can do is remember my name!" she shot back at the silver haired man. "It's Aerith!"

Sephiroth laughed again, "so feisty, where's the sweet naive girl I used to know?"

"She grew up…" Aerith uttered through gritted teeth. "What are you doing here, and where are my friends?" Aerith demanded as she scowled at Sephiroth.

"Well that's up to you Aerith," Sephiroth answered vaguely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aerith demanded again growing increasingly annoyed at the silver haired man's antics.

"Your friends aren't dead, yet," Sephiroth answered as he paced round Aerith. "And as long as you co-operate with me they'll be fine." Aerith glared at Sephiroth but she said nothing. "I plan to summon Meteor once again to destroy this pitiful world," Sephiroth stated as he smirked at Aerith.

Aerith stared at Sephiroth and staggered back slightly nevertheless she showed no fear. "That'll never happen!" She yelled adamantly, "I won't let you, besides in order to summon Meteor you need the Black Materia and last time I checked it was destroyed!"

Sephiroth laughed manically as he gave Aerith an amused smile, "yes, you're right, I do." He stated calmly before a black orb appeared in his hand causing Aerith to leap back in shock.

"Th…that's the…B…Black Materia…" she uttered hardly daring to believe what she was seeing. "But how…"

"I had it synthesised," Sephiroth answered as he tossed the Black Materia up and down.

"That's no ordinary Materia, it can't be synthesised using ordinary means…" Aerith informed Sephiroth her voice was shaking slightly.

"I had special help," Sephiroth answered again. "And I require more help." Sephiroth added as he advanced towards Aerith. Aerith knelt down and clasped her hands together and closed her eyes before muttering a prayer in the Cetra language under her breath.

After a while she opened her eyes and looked up at Sephiroth while smiling. "Your plan won't work, the Planet will stop it."

"Really…" Sephiroth stated as he too was smiling. "Perhaps you should look more carefully."

"Huh…" Aerith uttered in surprise before Sephiroth grabbed Aerith by the arm and dragged her to her feet before dragging her to the edge of the altar. "Ouch!" Aerith exclaimed in pain as she struggled against Sephiroth's grip, "Let go! You're hurting me!"

Aerith continued to struggle as Sephiroth threw her into the railing, "as I recall, when a Cetra's prayer reaches the Planet the White Materia glows pale green, am I right?" Sephiroth questioned as he continued to hold Aerith's arm tightly, Aerith nodded nervously wondering why Sephiroth was bringing it up. "Take a look," Sephiroth added as he grabbed the back of Aerith's head and forced her to look down.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Aerith screamed as she was forced to look downwards into the lake.

"Tell me, what do you see?" Sephiroth demanded as he continued to hold Aerith in that position.

"The White Materia…" Aerith uttered as she saw the orb at the bottom of the lake.

"Very good, now tell me what colour it is," Sephiroth commanded, his very voice sending a chill down Aerith's spine. Aerith examined the White Materia more closely and was shocked to discover that it wasn't glowing at all. "It isn't glowing is it?" Sephiroth questioned Aerith while answering his previous question at the same time.

"No…" Aerith muttered a hint of fear and worry in her voice. She let out a scream as Sephiroth lifted her back up. "But…how's that possible?"

"Simple, your prayer hasn't reached the Planet," Sephiroth answered still with that eerily calm voice.

"What?" Aerith questioned as she stared at Sephiroth in shock.

"I couldn't have you thwart my plan this time so I severed your link to the Planet," Sephiroth answered as he smirked evilly. "You can no longer communicate with the Planet."

"No…" Aerith uttered hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. "Why are you doing this?!" She screamed at the silver haired man. "What do you want?!"

Sephiroth laughed as he stepped closer to Aerith again, "what I want Aerith, is to destroy this world and everything in it, so that I can recreate it to my liking." He explained his plan as he smirked evilly at Aerith, "I shall rule this Planet as its king and you my dear, shall rule by my side as my queen." Sephiroth added as he reached out and stroked the side of Aerith's face.

"Don't touch me…" Aerith uttered in a disgusted tone as she quickly pushed Sephiroth away from her.

"What's the matter Aerith?" Sephiroth asked in a mocking tone as he gave Aerith an amused look. "You could have everything you ever wanted."

"I already have everything that I want!" Aerith snapped at Sephiroth, "A home, family, friends, a boyfriend that loves me, everything I have you're going to take away from me for your own selfish gains. This world doesn't just belong to you it belongs to everyone and I'm not going to help you destroy it!"

Sephiroth sighed exasperatedly, "I was afraid it would come to this," Sephiroth stated quietly as he walked away from Aerith slightly. "However if it gets you on side…" Sephiroth started to say as he held his hand out to summon a dark portal. He reached his hand in and slowly dragged something out.

Aerith looked at what Sephiroth was dragging out of the portal and she saw something black and spiky folded by a face that looked familiar to her, and finally a whole body was dragged out of the portal. "Zack!" Aerith gasped as she looked at the man that was lay on the floor, sure enough it was Zack but he was badly beaten up and his hands were tied behind his back.

Zack looked up as he heard his name being called and he saw Aerith stood there. "Aerith!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs before Sephiroth dragged him to his feet and pointed his Masamune at his throat.

"You monster!" Aerith yelled as she charged at Sephiroth and started hitting him in the chest.

Sephiroth sighed before knocking Aerith away, "pathetic…" he scoffed as he stared Aerith down. "I tried to get you to listen to reason, but you wouldn't listen. So I took your boyfriend hostage," Sephiroth explained as he pointed at Zack. "Now, which is it to be, the Planet, or your boyfriend?"

"Aerith…don't do it…" Zack pleaded with the Cetra as he struggled against his bonds.

"Zack…" Aerith called the man's name as she stared at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Help me summon Meteor and I'll spare Zack's life," Sephiroth promised as he slightly lowered his sword from Zack's throat.

"He's lying!" Zack warned Aerith as he continued to struggle. "He'll kill me anyway regardless of what choice you make. My usefulness to him has passed!"

"What do you mean?" Aerith questioned as she gave him a confused stare.

"Sephiroth forced me to reforge the Black Materia," Zack confessed as he sadly hung his head. "He said that if I didn't do it he'd hurt you, I didn't want that so I reforged the Black Materia. But that was a mistake, I don't you to make the same mistake I did!"

"Zack I…" Aerith stammered unsure of what to say, unsure of what to do. On the one hand she didn't want Sephiroth to kill Zack, she loved him too much. But on the other hand she didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of billions of innocent people, she was in such a major dilemma but now it was worse as she couldn't consult the Planet for advice.

"Which is it to be?" Sephiroth gave Aerith the ultimatum, "the Planet, or your boyfriend?" He asked as he point the sword so close to Zack's throat that Zack could feel the tip of the sword.

"Don't do it Aerith!" Zack called out to his girlfriend again, "save the Planet! Save yourself! Don't worry about me!"

"Do it Aerith," Sephiroth began probing the Cetra. "Help me and I will spare Zack's life, I will take him to the safe location with us and he can be our slave in our new world."

"He's just using you to get what he wants!" Zack tried to reason with Aerith. "I know you Aerith, you won't sacrifice the Planet's very being for me and I don't expect you to. Please Aerith, don't put the Planet in danger for me, I'm not worth it!"

"Don't say that Zack!" Aerith yelled tearfully, "I don't want to think of life without you!"

"What's one life compared to a billion?" Zack questioned the Cetra, tears were forming in his eyes. "Nothing," Zack answered his own question. "You can't put the entire Planet in danger to save one life."

"Take the Black Materia Aerith," Sephiroth commanded as he held out the orb in his free hand. "Take it and summon Meteor and the cleansing of the world can begin."

"Destroy it Aerith!" Zack yelled to the Cetra, "destroy the Black Materia! It's the only way!"

"Tell me Aerith, what's the point of living on a planet when you have no one to share your life with?" Sephiroth asked a very deep and hurtful question.

"I…" Aerith stammered as the tears streamed full flow down her face.

"Do it, and I'll ensure his survival," Sephiroth continued to probe deeper.

Aerith sighed sadly to herself, still unsure at what to do, Zack stared at Aerith, he was crying too. "I love you Aerith…" he whispered quietly, Aerith looked up at him and by looking into his eyes she knew what she had to do.

Aerith walked over to Zack, "I love you too," she whispered in the raven haired man's ear as she tenderly stroked the side of his face. "But please…please don't hate me for what I'm about to do…" she begged Zack.

Zack stared at her, his eyes were wide with shock for a moment but soon his shock faded as he knew at once what Aerith was going to do. "Aerith…" he started to say but Aerith placed her finger on Zack's lips to silence him.

"Please…don't make it any harder for me…" Aerith pleaded again as she kissed Zack passionately on the lips. Zack moaned as he tried to wrap his arms round Aerith's waist but his hands were still tied behind his back. After what seemed like forever Aerith released Zack and stepped away from him before taking the Black Materia from Sephiroth and stepping back to the centre of the altar.

"Aerith…" Zack started to beg as he struggled against his bonds again.

"I'm sorry Zack…" Aerith tearfully apologised as she clasped her hands tightly round the Black Materia. "But I have no choice…" Aerith wiped the tears from her eyes as she closed them and started to mutter in the Cetra language, the Black Materia glowed as Meteor was being summoned.

Aerith opened her eyes again, shocked at what she had done, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed her anguish to the heavens as she collapsed to her knees and buried her head in her arms.

* * *

"Aerith…" A voice spoke to her.

"Please…leave me alone…"

"Aerith…wake up…"

"Huh…" Aerith uttered as she opened her eyes and looked up to see Zack, Angel and Lance kneeling around her.

"Are you ok?" Zack questioned as he gave Aerith a concerned stare.

Aerith rubbed her eyes and took a closer look at Zack and she saw that he was perfectly fine. "Where are we?" She questioned still confused.

"We're in Illusion's castle," Zack answered he too was confused.

Aerith let out a sob before throwing herself into Zack's chest, "I'm so glad you're ok…" she sobbed into Zack's chest. Zack was knelt there in shock at first but he lifted his arms up and wrapped them round Aerith. "It was horrible…I was in the City of the Ancients…Sephiroth showed up, he had the Black Materia remade and I couldn't summon Holy to stop him…he wanted me to help him with his plans and he captured you to black mail me and it worked…" Aerith continued to cry into Zack's chest.

"Sssshhhhh…it's ok…" Zack whispered in Aerith's ear to reassure her as he stroked her hair. "We're not in the City of the Ancients, we're in Illusion's castle," Zack reminded Aerith of where they were. "We're here to rescue Pandora, remember?" Aerith nodded. "The Black Materia hasn't been remade, Meteor hasn't been summoned as far as I know you can still communicate with the Planet, ok."

"Ok…" Aerith stated as she looked up at Zack. "Sorry for getting all emotional on you all like that.

"It's ok…" Angel told Aerith, "I was the same, I had a nightmare about Lance too and I was beside myself when I snapped out of it…I thought it was real."

"Hmmm…" Lance mused as he looked around the room. "There's something strange about this place…"

"Yes," Angel agreed with Lance as she stood up and looked around. "I sense very powerful magic in this place," she informed the group as she closed her eyes.

"We can counter it right?" Zack questioned as he gave Angel a curious stare.

Angel opened her eyes, "it's no ordinary magic," Angel answered as she shook her head. "This is very powerful magic, it's like it's reading our minds…"

"It seems that the enchantments put in this castle were designed to see our deepest fears and turns them into a realistic vision." Lance stated as he looked around the torture chamber.

"So what you're saying is that this castle knows our fears and is making us see them…" Aerith questioned as she gave Lance and Angel a knowing look.

"Yes," Angel answered as she nodded. "We should be careful from here on out."

The group suddenly heard clapping and they looked around trying to find the source of the clapping. "So the rabbit actually has a brain," a dark male voice spoke.

The group leapt up in shock and quickly withdrew their weapons, "who said that?!" Lance demanded as he spun round looking for the source of the voice. "Show yourself!" They heard the sound of laughter as a figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal a man with black hair, he was wearing strange clothing and was surrounded by a dark aura. "Nero…" Lance uttered as he instantly recognised the man and he and his friends pointed their weapons at Nero.

"Humph…pathetic weapons…" Nero scoffed as he sneered at the group's weapons.

"We kicked your ass before with these 'pathetic' weapons and we can do it again…" Lance hissed menacingly as he glared at the dark man.

"You just got lucky," Nero remarked as he walked closer to the group. "You may have survived through your fears without killing each other but you still have to get passed me before you can proceed."

"Easy…" Zack bragged as he smirked at Nero and got into a fighting stance, Aerith, Angel and Lance did the same.

Nero merely laughed again, "I don't know whether to call you all brave or stupid," he commented mockingly as the group scowled at him. "You're probably both, I do commend your bravery but it won't help you against my dark power!" Nero yelled this last part out loud as he spread his arms out wide and was surrounded by a dark aura and two guns appeared out of two small dark portals and Nero grabbed them and pointed them at the group. "Let's dance…" He whispered evilly as he started to advance on the group.

* * *

Meanwhile Barret, Red, Nightshade and Isis were upstairs and entered the bedroom, the bedroom was a large circular chamber with a large four poster bed with a decorative purple canopy and a matching lace curtain over the bed. There was a large, ornate wardrobe made out of ebony wood next to the bed and the room was dimly lit with a purple glow from overhead lamps. "This must be the master bedroom," Isis remarked as she looked all around her.

"What the hell makes you say that?" Barret questioned as he stared at Isis.

"Just call it woman's intuition," Isis commented as she smirked at Barret.

"They say that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their bedroom," Red informed the group as he looked round the room intrigued.

"So Illusion is dark and mysterious with an over active libido…" Nightshade muttered to himself as he looked at the bed.

"What was that?" Red asked as he turned round to look at Nightshade.

"Sorry, I forgot there was a child present," Nightshade stated as he smirked at Red causing the beast to scowl at him.

"When you kids have stopped arguing, we need to find out where Pandora is," Isis cut in before Red could say anything in response to Nightshade's cryptic remarks. Without another word the group started to look round the room for any switches or buttons that would lead to secret passages or even secret rooms, but alas after ten minutes of searching they found nothing.

"This ain't gettin' us nowhere!" Barret yelled in frustration as he punched one of the lamps causing it to spin round an point towards the window where the red sun's light shone on the lamp which caused a strange door like reflection to appear on the wall. "Now that's a funny lookin' reflection…" Barret commented as the group stared at it.

"That is impossible…" Isis uttered unsure of what to think, "Totally illogical…"

"That's magic for you," Nightshade told Isis as he walked closer to the reflection. "It's not supposed to be logical."

"Fascinating…absolutely fascinating…" Red uttered in awe as he walked up to the reflection to examine it more closely. He sniffed the reflection before putting his paw on it, Red quickly jumped back as the reflection glowed before an ornate looking door appeared in place of the reflection.

The group stared at the door in awe with their mouths wide open, "what the hell…" Barret cursed as he continued to stare at the door. "What the hell is this?"

"In an old castle like this, you should be prepared for a whole host of secrets," Nightshade informed the man as Barret turned round to stare at him. "It's possible that Pandora is behind this door," Nightshade continued as he pushed the door open and was blinded by a purple coloured light. The light faded and Nightshade walked through the door to find that he was in a dark room, he looked down and saw that he was standing on what looked like a glowing step. He looked down even further and saw that he was stood at the top of a spiral staircase, each step glowed as vividly as the last. He looked up and saw that the room was littered flickering star like lights which seemed to slightly illuminate the darkness.

"What do you see?" Isis called into her comrade.

"A staircase which leads down," Nightshade answered as he walked down to the second step.

"Is it safe?" Red questioned.

"Yeah," Nightshade replied. "The room is mostly dark but there is some light, it's fine."

"Well we ain't gonna rescue Pandora by standin' here," Barret stated feeling slightly braver now that he knew that it was fine on the other side. "Let's go!" He commanded as he walked through the door and was stood on the top step. "Ok…why are we outside all of a sudden?" Barret questioned as he looked up to see what looked like a full moon and millions of stars.

"We're not outside," Nightshade called up to him from a few steps down. "It must be some kind of image generator that's creating the illusion that we're outside."

"Really…" Barret asked as he looked down at the Kitsune.

"Yeah," Nightshade replied. "It's very commonly used on my home planet."

"I see…" Barret stated as he started to walk down the steps.

"This place is remarkable," Red remarked as he stepped through the door and looked around. "You say that it's some kind of imaging technology that created this…" he questioned as he gave Nightshade a curious stare.

"Yeah," Nightshade answered as he looked back up at the beast.

"Fascinating," Red commented with a keen interest. "Certainly worth looking at."

"Maybe you could borrow Max's when all this is over," Nightshade told the beast.

"That would be great," Red replied, he smiled at the Kitsune as he started to jump down the steps to catch up with Barret and Nightshade.

"Let's just hurry up and rescue Pandora so we can get out of this creepy castle!" Isis yelled impatiently as she stepped through the door and was stood on the first step, however she couldn't help but stare in awe at the stars and the moon and the glowing staircase.

"Fascinating isn't it?" Red questioned as he looked up at Isis.

"It is a mere distraction from our mission," Isis stated blankly in an attempt to hide her awe as she walked down the steps.

"What's the matter?" Nightshade questioned mockingly as he gave Isis a sly grin. "Can't admit that you actually find something amazing…or are you just afraid to use your emotions?"

"I'm not afraid!" Isis snapped as she glared at Nightshade, "emotions are useless, they cloud one's judgement. You of all people should know that Nightshade."

"Let's get going," Nightshade quickly changed the subject as he turned round and started to walk down the steps. "After all it is my daughter in law that Illusion has captured."

Without another word the group walked down the spiral staircase going round and round as they descended. The stairs seemed to go on forever but still the four carried on going for they knew that they had no other choice. After what seemed like an eternity the group finally walked down the last step and they found themselves in a narrow corridor. "That took too long!" Barret complained loudly his voice echoing through out the corridor. "It would've made our lives easier if the staircase actually moved!"

"I wonder where this corridor leads," Red mused as he looked down the corridor that looked for the most part dark, but there was a pale purple light being emitted from purple flames that were on torches on the walls.

"I'm not sure," Nightshade stated as he started to walk forwards to get a better look down the tunnel. "But other than going back up the staircase it's the only way we can go."

"Finally…some logic to this place," Isis stated in relief as she walked behind Nightshade. "Red, I think it would be best if you led."

"She's right," Barret agreed as he looked at the beast. "Your tail could help us see better."

Red looked from Barret to Nightshade to Isis before nodding. "Very well, I shall go first all of you follow and try to stay close. Who knows what dangers we'll face on the other side." Red warned as he started to walk down the tunnel, the red glow from the end of his tail mixing with the purple glow of the torches completely lighting up the otherwise dark corridor. Red sniffed the ground and Isis used her keen eyesight to look at every crack in the tunnel but she could find nothing lurking in the tunnel.

Compared to the staircase the corridor was surprisingly short and it wasn't long until the group emerged into a well lit room. The room was incredibly large and extremely ornate with a long red carpet with gold trimmings trailing the entire length of the marble floor which was so shiny that the group could see their reflections staring back at them. There were ornate columns holding up the high ceiling which had a highly complex painting of several prominent figures in Dark Kitsune history one of which was Illusion herself. The room looked old however it showed no signs of decay, there was no dust or cracks in the floor or the columns nor were the colours fading. Rather the room looked just as grand and beautiful as the day it was built. Nightshade closed his eyes as he sensed the actual age of the room, "this room is extremely old," he informed the group has he opened his eyes.

"But that's impossible," Red remarked as he looked at the room. "There is no sign of decay."

"There must be some sort of enchantment on this place that preserves the room," Nightshade replied as he looked around. "But this room is thousands of years old, just like this castle but everything in it looks brand new…"

The group continued to look around the room and they saw that the only real furniture in the room was a very decorative throne made entirely out of gold. "A throne room…" Barret uttered as he stared at the throne.

"Odd…" Isis stated as she thoughtfully rubbed her chin."If this is a throne room then why is it down here?"

"That is an interesting question," Red replied as he looked round the room inquisitively. "However we have more pressing issues right now."

"Like findin' a way outta here," Barret stated as he walked near the throne room. "I wonder if there's a switch or somethin'…"

However Barret didn't have much time to find a lever or a switch as he found himself being surrounded by a strange white mist which covered the entire room making it impossible for Barret to see his friends. "What the hell…" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he looked around frantically for his friends. "Nightshade! Red! Isis!" He called out his friends' names as he ran through the mist, however the mist was so thick that he couldn't see anything. "Where the hell is everyone?!" He questioned as he stopped finally giving up, all of a sudden the mist disappeared and Barret found himself in a very familiar town.

"Corel…" Barret uttered as he looked round the old miner town that had long since been rebuilt. "Why am I here?" He questioned as he walked down the street, when he reached the end of the street he found himself stood in front of a very familiar house and it didn't take him long to realise that it was his own house. "This is my house…why the hell am I here?" He asked as he looked around the desert town in confusion, nevertheless he walked over to the front door and opened it.

"Hello?!" Barret called into the house as he peered round the door, however when he received no answer he entered the house and walked down the hallway and entered the living room where he saw a young girl with long brown hair sat on the sofa. "Marlene…" Barret called out to the girl, the girl looked up at him and sure enough she was Marlene however she was older at least 13 or 14 and was wearing a knee length purple dress, purple gloves and purple boots, her hair was longer and just sat on her shoulders. "Marlene am I glad to see you…" Barret uttered in relief as he walked towards his daughter.

"Stay away from me…" Marlene suddenly snapped as she quickly leapt to her feet and glared at Barret.

"What's goin' on?" Barret questioned obviously confused at Marlene's strange behaviour. "Marlene, it's me…your daddy…"

"No you're not!" Marlene screamed at the man as her hands were clenched into fists, "you're not my father…my father is dead…"

"I don't understand…" Barret stated still confused at why his daughter would act like this.

"Denzel told me," Marlene explained to Barret still in that hostile manner. "He blurted it out that you weren't my real father and Cloud and Tifa were forced to tell me everything!"

"Oh that…" Barret uttered as he suddenly remembered what Marlene was talking about. "You weren't supposed to find out…not like that…"

"You mean you didn't want me to find out at all!" Marlene snapped as she walked towards Barret and jabbed her index finger into the man's chest.

"That's not true!" Barret yelled in defence, "we didn't tell you because we didn't want to hurt you," Barret tried to explain himself to Marlene. "We wanted to protect you."

"Protect yourself more like!" Marlene yelled, "you killed my father!"

"No I didn't…" Barret replied sadly as he remembered his old friend. "He felt he had nothing to live for…before he died he told me to take care of you…I know I'm not your father by blood but I'm still your father."

"No you're not! Marlene screamed at Barret as she thumped him in the chest and walked passed him. "You're just a murderer! I hate you and I never ever want to see you ever again!" Marlene yelled before walking out of the living room and slamming the door behind her.

"MARLENE!" Barret yelled his daughter's name at the top of his lungs as he fell to his knees and punched the floor repeatedly with his cybernetic hand as the living room started to fade all around him.

* * *

Meanwhile Red was walking through the mist looking for signs of his friends when the mist disappeared and he found himself in Bugen Hagen's Observatory. "Strange…" Red uttered as he tried hard to remain calm at the sudden change of scene, "why am I in grandpa's old observatory?" He asked himself as he looked around, however he didn't get an answer to his question as someone had burst into the room.

"Nanaki!" The man called to Red while breathing heavily, "We have a serious problem!"

"What's the problem?" Red questioned as he gave the man a concerned stare.

"The canyon is under attack!" The man answered in a panicked tone, "We desperately need your help!"

"I'm on my way," Red replied without hesitation as he quickly ran out of the room and out on to the balcony where he saw several strange beings wreaking havoc on Cosmo Canyon and he saw the people running and screaming in panic as they were being attacked by the beings. "It can't be…" Red uttered in shock as he took a closer look at the beings. "They were defeated…my father made sure of that…we defeated their spirits…"

"A strange woman revived them," the man explained as he too looked down.

"Illusion…" Red uttered the woman's name, "gather as many warriors as you can," Red told the man. "I'm going to hold them."

"Right away Nanaki," the man replied as he nodded and ran off.

Red sighed before leaping off the balcony and he leapt from wall to wall as he descended to the bottom of the canyon. A young woman and child were huddled against the wall as an armoured skeletal like creature wielding a giant sword advanced on them. A loud roar could be heard and the GI warrior looked up just in time as Red leapt towards the undead warrior and focused all his energy causing a bright green aura to surround him as he fell even faster and as he fell towards the GI warrior he sped up causing himself to go right through it and he landed safely on all four feet on the other side of the warrior. The GI warrior looked down in shock to see a large gaping hole in the middle of it before it collapsed into a pile of bones.

Red turned round and walked over to the woman and child, "are you alright?" He asked them, his voice was filled with concern.

"Yes," the woman replied as she and her child slowly stood up. "Thank you Nanaki," she thanked the red beast as she nodded her head.

"You're welcome," Red responded as he lowered his head modestly before sensing that something was behind him and he kicked out with his back legs knocking another GI warrior off balance. He then turned round and bit the undead warrior and began to shake it in his mouth as several bones were sent flying all over the place. Red threw the last bone away before turning back to the woman and child, "go further into the canyon and find shelter," Red told the woman. "It's too dangerous to stay out here." The woman nodded and she and her child ran into the caves and further up the canyon.

Red sighed before he ran off fighting other GI warriors and saved the terrorized civilians, soon the warriors from Cosmo Canyon joined in the fight to aid Red. However even with their valiant effort there were far too many GI and they soon found themselves overwhelmed. "There's too many of them…" Red panted as he was forced to back away into a corner still putting up a brave fight against the GI. Red roared as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder he looked down and saw a strange dart lodged in his shoulder. "A dart…" He uttered as he looked up in shock. The GI saw that Red was injured and they started to advance on him while several GI archers shot more darts at him. Red howled in pain as more darts pierced into various parts of his body.

Red suddenly started to feel weak and dizzy, he tried to fight off the GI warriors but he couldn't move very well. Red looked down at his paws and he saw that he was slowly turning to stone and he began to quiver in fear. "Those darts are turning me to stone…" Red uttered in fear. "Just like they did to my father…" Red howled sadly as the scenery faded all around him.

* * *

Isis looked around the mist trying to find her friends, but even with her cybernetic enhancements it was hard for to see what was right in front of her let alone her friends. However Isis wasn't one to panic easily so she calmly stayed in one spot until the mist cleared. Isis could hear strange bleeping sounds before she opened her eyes and found herself in a strange tube. "Huh…" Isis let out a muffled sound as she looked around her to find that she was in some kind of lab. "Where am I?"

Before Isis could receive an answer to her question she could hear the sound of footsteps as a man wearing a lab coat approached the tube she was in. "So you're awake…" he spoke into the tube. Isis looked at the man but she said nothing. "Your father will be pleased that you've woken up," the man continued as he smiled at Isis.

"_My father…" _ Isis thought as she gave the man a confused stare.

In answer to her question more footsteps could be heard and a male Persian cat that looked very much like Isis and wearing a suit entered the room. "So my daughter is awake," the man stated as he looked at the doctor.

"Yes sir," the doctor answered. "The nano-therapy was a complete success," the doctor happily told Isis' father.

"Excellent," Isis' father replied as he smiled at his daughter. "And how are the ehem…other implants?" He asked the doctor as he whispered in his ear.

"You mean the weapons upgrade…" the doctor whispered to Isis' father, however Isis overheard.

"_Weapons upgrade…" _Isis thought to herself as she scowled at her father. _"Just what is my father up to?"_

"Yes, that's what I mean," Isis's father answered as he paced round the room. "I'd like to test it as soon as possible."

"Are you sure that's wise sir?" The doctor asked the rich man.

"I don't pay you to ask questions!" Isis' father snapped at the doctor, "I pay you to do what I tell you now get her out of the tube so we can test out her fighting capabilities. Ha ha, Tony's gang won't know what hit them."

"_Tony…what's he gotta do with this…" _Isis questioned to herself growing more and more concerned for her welfare.

"With Isis and her knew cybernetic enhancements no one will dare mess with me!" Isis' father yelled triumphantly as he smirked at his daughter. "I will be the number one crime lord in this town!"

"_So that's it…he wants to use me as a weapon…" _Isis thought angrily as she realised what her father's true intentions were. _"He didn't want me to have that surgery for my own good, he wanted me to have it so he could secretly implant weapon manufacturing nanites inside me…he hasn't changed at all…" _

Isis' hands instinctively balled into fists but no one seemed to notice, "Release her from the tube," Isis' father ordered. Isis looked down as she heard a strange sound and the water was drained all around her, as the last of the water drained she landed gracefully on the bottom of the tube and lowered her head. The tube's door opened and Isis slowly stepped out of it still with her head to the floor. "At last…my daughter…my beautiful daughter," Isis' father remarked as he looked at Isis.

"Should we run the target practice test?" The doctor asked.

"No," Isis' father asked as he shook his head. "I have a better test, bring in the prisoner!" He yelled out of the room and a few seconds later two men entered the room dragging a third man, the third man was beaten up and had numerous cuts and bruises on him. "One of Tony's informants, he'd make a perfect test."

"No…please…" the captured man protested as he struggled against his captors.

"Silence him!" Isis' father ordered as one of his goons punched the man. The man winced in pain but he fell quiet, "that's better," Isis' father stated as he gave a satisfied smile. "Now Isis, show me what you can do." Isis stood there for a moment unmoving, she hated Tony's gang. After all it was because of their rivalry with her father that she was left fighting for her life in the first place, however she didn't want to be involved in her father's games, nor did she want to be his personal assassin. "I said do it!" Isis' father yelled at her, without warning Isis created a magnum in her hand and aimed it at the captured man before pulling the trigger, the man fell to the floor dead with a bullet hole in the middle of his head right between the eyes. "Remarkable!" Isis' father yelled as he smiled at Isis, "the implants were a complete success, with you at my side I'll be unstoppable!" He shouted again as he laughed before walking up to Isis.

Isis then pointed her gun at her father's head, "I'll never help you…" she hissed menacingly her finger was etched on the trigger. "It's because of you that I'm like this in the first place…you and your stupid gang wars!"

"Are you really going to shoot your own father?" He questioned Isis as he looked down the barrel of the magnum.

"Don't tempt me…" Isis uttered, "I was two meters away and I shot that guy right between the eyes. At point blank range there's no way I can miss…"

"You will do exactly as I say, or so help me I'll have the nanites inside you shut down…" Isis' father threatened.

Isis laughed when she heard that, "resorting to threats now…" she uttered there was no hint of fear in her voice or on her face. "But then again, that's all you're good at because you were a second rate father…"

"When you were caught in the cross fire I could've left you for dead, but instead I paid a good amount of money for you to have that nano-therapy!" Isis' father screamed at his daughter.

"Only because you wanted to turn me into a weapon!" Isis snapped back as she pushed the gun closer into her father's face.

"I can have those nanites switched off at any time," Isis' father threatened again. "And due to the extensive damage that was done to your body you won't be able to survive without them, you'll be dead within minutes."

"I'd rather be dead than be forced to work with you," Isis hissed at her father. "But of course, that was just an empty threat because you wouldn't dare switch the nanites off, because you're all talk and no action. Now I'm leaving to live my own life away from you and away from gang violence," Isis continued as she glared at her father. "And if you try to follow me I won't hesitate to kill you."

"There was me thinking you weren't a killer," Isis' father scoffed as he smirked at his daughter.

"For you…I'm willing to make a big exception…" Isis answered before pulling the gun away from her father's face and made it disappear. "And if you value your life you'll leave me alone to get on with mine…or what's left of it." Without another word Isis left the lab and as soon as she was out of the room she started crying as she ran down the corridor the scene fading to black.

* * *

Nightshade sighed to himself as he walked slowly and calmly through the mist, "my shades are getting all fogged up…" Nightshade uttered in annoyance as he removed his shades and cleaned them using his coat. "I wonder where the others are…" He continued to walk through the mist until it faded and he found himself in what looked like a prison cell.

"A cell…" Nightshade uttered as he looked around the small room, "why am I in a cell…"

Before Nightshade could do or say anything else the cell door opened and two Dark Kitsunes entered the cell, "Balthazar wishes to see you," one of the Dark Kitsunes spoke as the two walked over to Nightshade.

"Balthazar…" Nightshade spat his brother's name but at the same time he was confused.

"He's impressed that you managed to allude him for ten years but now he finally has you," the second Dark Kitsune replied as he and his comrade grabbed Nightshade's hands and held them behind his back. Nightshade fought back against the guards but they jabbed him with shock sticks causing him to cry out in pain. "I wouldn't fight back if I were you, you'll only get more pain."

Nightshade merely moaned in response, the electric shock sapped most of his strength so he could nothing but let the guards drag him out of the cell to Balthazar's personal quarters. The guards dragged Nightshade to a decorative circular room where a red furred Kitsune was sat on a throne. "Balthazar…" Nightshade weakly muttered the man's name.

Balthazar smirked as he stood up and walked towards Nightshade, "it's good to see you again little brother," Balthazar greeted as his grin grew wider.

"Enough of the pleasantries Balthazar…" Nightshade spat as he glared at his brother. "What the hell do you want?"

"You're very abrupt," Balthazar stated in an amused voice as he knelt down so that he was level with Nightshade. "Very different to the innocent and naïve boy I used to know."

"That's because I was force to grow up…fast…" Nightshade retorted tempted to spit in Balthazar's face. "All thanks to you…"

Balthazar laughed before he stood up and paced round the room, "I must say I'm impressed, you've managed to avoid me for a whole decade," Balthazar started to drone as he stood still for a moment with his back to Nightshade. "However, when you left the palace you left with someone else," Balthazar continued as he turned round to face Nightshade again. "A baby…"

Nightshade's eyes grew wide with shock," Max…" He uttered under his breath.

"So that's his name…interesting…" Balthazar mused as he rubbed his chin. "But what's more interesting is that when my bounty hunters finally caught you, this Max wasn't with you…now why is that? Were you trying to hide him?" Balthazar questioned but Nightshade said nothing rather he looked away from Balthazar. Balthazar sighed before walking over to Nightshade and he knelt down beside him again before placing his hand under Nightshade's chin and forcing him to look at him. "Where is he?"

"I'm not gonna tell you where he is…" Nightshade stated defiantly as he glared at Balthazar.

"Have it your way," Balthazar stated before clicking his fingers and his guards started to beat Nightshade up. Nightshade winced as he was punched, kicked, bitten and telekinetically attacked by Balthazar's guards but not once did he cry out. Balthazar clicked his fingers again and his guards stopped, Nightshade was lay on the floor holding his stomach and he coughed thick specks of blood which landed on the floor. Balthazar walked up to Nightshade before lifting him up with his psychic powers. "Now, I'll ask you again. Where is the boy?" Balthazar demanded a little more impatiently as Nightshade struggled against Balthazar's grip.

"I'll never…tell you…" Nightshade uttered weakly but stubbornly, refusing to back down. "I won't…betray my own son…"

"You're strong I'll give you that," Balthazar complimented his brother. "But you're stubborn, but let's see how long it takes for you to crack under mental torture." Balthazar used his telepathy to enter Nightshade's mind and he forced Nightshade to see images of Aurora's death.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Nightshade yelled as he was forced to watch his wife dying over and over again in his head. Balthazar laughed manically as Nightshade struggled obviously in severe mental pain.

Eventually Balthazar released Nightshade and he fell to the floor shaking violently from what he was forced to see. Balthazar walked over to Nightshade and dragged him to his feet, "where is he Nightshade?" Balthazar asked a third time.

"In…an orphanage…" Nightshade muttered barely above a whisper, to shaken to speak properly.

"There are millions of orphanages in the world," Balthazar told the younger Kitsune. "Be more specific!"

"He's…in…Metropolis…" Nightshade uttered weakly as he felt sick.

"Metropolis…" Balthazar repeated the name as he rubbed his chin. "Thank you Nightshade you've been most helpful…" Balthazar added as he smirked evilly, before Nightshade could react Balthazar withdrew a knife and stabbed it deeply into Nightshade's stomach.

"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh…" Nightshade moaned in pain as he felt the knife twisting in his insides.

"Goodbye little brother…" Balthazar whispered tauntingly in Nightshade's ear as blood started to froth out of Nightshade's mouth as he continued to moan weakly. "Say hi to Aurora for me…" These were the last words Nightshade heard before Balthazar pulled the knife out of him and released him letting him fall to the floor, Nightshade fell unconscious as the scene started to fade all around him.

* * *

"Nightshade…" Several voices spoke to him causing him to open his eyes.

Nightshade quickly looked down and he saw much to his amazement there wasn't a gaping stab wound or a scratch on him for that matter. "What happened?" He questioned as he looked up to see Barret, Red and Isis stood over him.

"We're not sure," Isis answered. "We were searching for a way out of this room when we were all surrounded by mist."

"Then we started freakin' out!" Barret continued to explain as he reached out and helped Nightshade to his feet.

"Thanks," Nightshade replied gratefully as he was back on his feet again. "Freak out…" He questioned as he stared at his friends.

"We saw things that appeared to be real but they really weren't," Red answered. "But I thought that illusion magic only affected the weak minded…"

"This is no ordinary illusion magic," Nightshade informed Red as he held his head, still visibly shaken from what he had seen.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Red asked him his voice was filled with concern. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," Nightshade answered as he smiled at Red. "What I saw just disturbed me that's all…"

"Well now that we've come back to our senses let's try to find a way out of this room," Isis reminded the group of their task.

"If only it were that easy…" a male voice echoed throughout the room, the group looked around and they saw a man sat elegantly on the throne.

"Balthazar…" Nightshade uttered as he instantly recognised the man.

Balthazar smirked as he stood up and walked towards the group, "did you enjoy your nightmares?" He questioned as he continued to smirk at the group.

"If that's all that Illusion can do then we're not impressed," Isis replied coldly as she and the others scowled at him.

"I see…" Balthazar uttered as he rubbed his chin. "You managed to get through the illusions with your sanity relatively intact…it would seem that I have to defeat you myself," he added as two swords appeared in his hands.

The group also withdrew their weapons and pointed them at Balthazar, "you're forgetting…we've defeated you before and we can do it again!" Nightshade yelled at his former brother as he bared his teeth at him.

"You may be more skilled since last time, but here I have the upper hand!" Balthazar yelled as he charged at the group.

* * *

In another part of the mansion Vincent, Yuffie, Drogo and Sunny had entered a large and very grand looking bathroom. The bath was very ornate with gold taps, there was a wash basin next to the bath with silver handles and a shower at the end of the room with a purple coloured curtain draped round it. "Wow…" Yuffie uttered as she looked round the bathroom, "This room looks very familiar to the bathroom at my house," she commented as she looked at the bath. "Only it's not…"

"As drab and depressing as yours…" Vincent muttered darkly causing Yuffie to scowl at him.

"I was going to say that it isn't as fancy as mine if you hadn't have interrupted…" Yuffie retorted as she continued to scowl at Vincent.

Sunny walked over to the bath and touched the taps with her finger, "hey Drogo, these kinds of taps will be perfect in our bathroom…" She commented as she smiled at Drogo.

Drogo sighed as he walked over to Sunny, "Sunny how can you think of decorating at time like this?" He questioned as he stared at her.

"Just trying to brighten up the mood," Sunny answered as she continued to smile at her husband.

"I know you are but we have more pressing issues right now," Drogo told her.

"I know," Sunny stated as her smile fade. "I do want to find Pandora but it doesn't all have to be doom and gloom does it?"

"Not unless you're Vincent," Yuffie answered as she pointed at the raven haired man. "He thrives on doom and gloom…kidding…" Yuffie uttered quickly as Vincent pointed Cerberus at her.

"Good," Vincent stated blankly as he continued to point his gun at Yuffie. "Because if you weren't you'd get bitten not once, not twice, but three times…"

"The old three headed dog joke…" Yuffie uttered nervously, "very funny…"

"It wasn't a joke," Vincent retorted but he pulled his gun away from Yuffie and put it back in its holster before walking away from her. "There is nothing in this room, let's move on," he commanded as he walked out of the room.

"It's called a sense of humour Vincent!" Yuffie called after Vincent, "you can buy it at any store!" Vincent sighed as he slammed the door shut behind him. "Fine! Be that way you jerk!" Yuffie continued to yell.

"Come on, we better follow him," Drogo stated as he too walked out of the bathroom. Sunny and Yuffie followed him out and the group themselves in the corridor, they saw Vincent and ran to catch up with him. "Look I know Yuffie's a pain in the ass," Drogo started to talk to Vincent.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she scowled at Drogo.

"But…we're all in this together," Drogo continued as he ignored Yuffie. "And we're not gonna rescue Pandora by arguing among ourselves."

"I know," Vincent stated as he looked at Drogo. "Let's try this room," he quickly changed the subject as he pushed a door open and stepped inside.

Yuffie, Drogo and Sunny followed him and they found themselves in a beautiful library with a large ornate window at the far side of the room. "This place is amazing…" Sunny uttered in awe as she looked at the books on the shelves. "Illusion has her own library…" Sunny remarked as she took a book down from one of the shelves. "Advanced Necromancy…" Sunny read the cover of the black leather book she was holding in her hand before she quickly put it back. "No thanks…" she uttered slightly unnerved.

"You do know that all the books in here will be on Necromancy right?" Drogo asked Sunny.

"Yeah," Sunny answered. "But I thought it was a forbidden art…"

"Just because something's forbidden doesn't mean that people will stop practicing it," Drogo told Sunny. "Come on, we need to find the room that Pandora's in."

The group continued to explore the library, "this place is so boring…" Yuffie muttered as she sighed and looked at the books. "I mean take a look at these books…" Yuffie continued as she pulled several books off the shelf. "All of them about Necromancy…I mean what's the bloody point?!" She yelled as she threw each book on to the floor. Yuffie pulled one more book half way off the shelf when the ground began to shake.

"Whoa!" Everyone yelled at the same time as they quickly grabbed on to something to prevent themselves from falling over. "Yuffie, what did you do?!" Drogo called over to Yuffie.

"Nothing…" The ninja lied through her teeth as she fell backside first on to the floor.

"Doesn't sound like nothing!" Drogo yelled to Yuffie, the group looked just in time to see several bricks in the wall rearrange themselves creating what looked like a passage way.

"A secret passage way…" Sunny uttered as she walked over to it. "Do you think it'll lead us to Pandora?" She questioned as she looked back at her comrades.

"There's only one way to find out," Drogo answered as he walked towards the tunnel and entered it.

"N…no way am I going in there…" Yuffie stammered as she staggered back her body was visibly shaking in fear.

"Just get going…" Vincent commanded as he stepped behind the ninja. "Unless you want to feel Cerberus up your ass…" Vincent threatened as he smirked at her.

"Actually…that tunnel doesn't seem so bad…" Yuffie quickly uttered as she ran towards the tunnel and ran through it to catch up with Drogo. Vincent and Sunny both sighed as they followed their comrades down the tunnel and the bricks rearranged themselves completely closing off the tunnel.

The group walked through the tunnel and they found themselves in a large square room which was completely empty except for a door on the other side. "A door…" Yuffie stated as she pointed to the door, "maybe that'll lead us to Pandora…"

"Well considering it's the only door in the room then yeah…" Drogo muttered sarcastically.

"There's no need to be sarcastic…" Yuffie snapped as she glared at Drogo.

"Then stop pointing out the blatantly obvious…" Drogo retorted as he walked passed Yuffie. The group made their way to the door but as they did so they found themselves surrounded by mist.

"What's going on?!" Yuffie screamed as she ran frantically through the mist trying to find her friends. "Guys! Can you hear me?! Please…don't leave me…" Yuffie muttered as she suddenly felt afraid, then the mist quickly disappeared and Yuffie found herself in a forest. "Ok…this is weird…" She uttered as she looked around her in confusion. "Then again this whole place is weird…" Yuffie walked through the forest pushing through some trees when she spotted a shiny object on the ground. "What's that?" Yuffie questioned as she took a closer look at the object and she discovered that it was a piece of Materia. "MATERIA!" Yuffie squealed with excitement as she ran straight towards the Materia not realising that she had caught her foot in a rope that was hidden in the grass. "Whoa!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs as the rope round her foot tightened and she found herself hanging upside down in a tree. "What the hell is this?!" Yuffie demanded as she struggled wildly not realising that the pouch she kept her Materia in had fallen to the ground. "Get me down from here!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" A shrill laugh echoed through out the forest.

"Who are you?!" Yuffie demanded again as she looked around frantically for the source of the laughter. The laughter echoed in Yuffie's ears again as she saw a person leaping from tree to tree before they landed gracefully on the ground she quickly picked up Yuffie's Materia pouch and put it round her waist before Yuffie could notice. On closer examination Yuffie saw that it was a young woman barely older than herself, the woman had long blonde hair which she tied back in a ponytail, green eyes and she wore a green tube top underneath a dark green jacket, matching green shorts dark green fingerless gloves and dark green leather boots with white socks sticking out of the top.

The woman looked up at Yuffie and smirked, "man I can't believe you fell straight into my trap!" The woman mocked Yuffie as Yuffie glared at her. "You're so gullible…"

"Do you even know who I am?!" Yuffie yelled down to the woman as she continued to struggle. "My name is Yuffie and I'm the greatest Materia Hunter ever!"

"Hmmm…the name sort of rings a bell…" the woman mused as she mockingly rubbed her chin. "Nah…come to think of it I haven't heard of you…"

"Well at least tell me who you are!" Yuffie demanded as she glared at the woman.

"Very well, my name is Sasha the greatest Materia Hunter in the world!" Sasha boasted as she pointed to herself. "Perhaps you've heard of me."

"Nope," Yuffie answered as she continued to scowl at the woman.

"That's a shame…" Sasha replied as she continued to look up at Yuffie. "If I were you I'd brush up on your information."

"And if I were you I wouldn't wear that ridiculous get up!" Yuffie retorted as she pointed at Sasha's clothes.

"Where as your outfit screams 'look at me! Take heed of me!'" Sasha retorted as she scowled at Yuffie, "talk about obnoxious."

"Obnoxious! You just let me down and I'll kick your ass and we'll see who the greatest Materia Hunter in the world is!" Yuffie screamed at Sasha as she struggled again.

"I'd rather fight against worthy opponents," Sasha stated dismissively. "But I will let you down," Sasha added as she took a kunai from her belt and threw it at the rope holding Yuffie. The kunai cut through the rope and Yuffie fell to the floor.

"Ouch!" Yuffie yelled as she landed stomach first.

"Well I better get going, got plenty more saps to steal Materia from. Oh a word to the not so wise, don't fall into any traps," Sasha advised causing Yuffie to growl under her breath and scowl at the blonde haired woman. "Thanks for the Materia," Sasha thanked Yuffie as she calmly walked off.

"What the…" Yuffie questioned she tried to find Sasha but Sasha had disappeared, she then looked down and saw that her Materia pouch had been stolen.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs in shock that someone had actually stolen Materia from her, she fell to her knees and continued to scream as the scene faded all around her.

* * *

Vincent was running through the mist breathing heavily as he ran in search for his friends, as the mist fade Vincent found himself in WRO Headquarters. "What the…" Vincent uttered as he stared at the room he was in, however something was wrong, there was blood everywhere and several dead bodies were littered all over the floor. "What happened here?" Vincent questioned as he walked over to the nearest body and examined it. He turned the body on to its back and he saw large claw marks, "what kind of monster would do this?"

"That's a very interesting question Vincent," a familiar voice spoke. Vincent turned round and he saw Shelke walking towards him.

"Shelke…" Vincent whispered the girl's name as he stood up.

"I heard the alarm," Shelke replied in her usual manner. "And I got here as soon as I could, but by the time I got here I was too late…they were already dead…" Shelke explained as she hung her head sadly.

"What happened here?" Vincent questioned as he stared at the girl, "What monster did this?"

"You did," Shelke answered as she stared at the dark haired man.

"I did…" Vincent uttered, his eyes were wide with shock. "But…that's impossible…"

"I have the security footage to prove it," Shelke stated as she held up a video tape. She put it into a video player and switched the screen on. The two saw a monster that bore a striking resemblance to Chaos brutally attacking the WRO employees, it looked up at the camera its red eyes lusting for blood and its mouth curled into an evil grin.

"Stop…" Vincent uttered as he staggered back, "I don't want to watch anymore…"

Shelke pushed the stop button on the video player, "I know it's a shock to you Vincent," Shelke spoke to Vincent. "But you had to know, you had to know what you were doing."

"But…I can control Chaos…" Vincent stated as he stared down at his own hands. "The Protomateria enables me to do that."

"It would seem that Illusion has found a way to override the Protomateria," Shelke told Vincent as she shook her head sadly.

"So Illusion's controlling me…" Vincent questioned as he stared at the girl, shocked at what he had heard.

"When you're in Chaos form yes, thanks to Illusion Chaos has lost all inhibitions, it can't tell the difference between friend and foe, thus it becomes a ruthless killing machine…" Shelke explained solemnly, Vincent sighed at the thought that when he turns into Chaos he could kill his friends. "But of course, you won't remember it because you're not in control," Shelke continued.

"Illusion's turning me into a blood thirsty monster," Vincent stated as he paced round. "Next time I could kill my friends and I wouldn't know it."

"Don't worry," Shelke reassured Vincent as she smiled at him. "Reeve and I are working on a way to override Illusion's control over Chaos so that you'll be back in control of it again."

"Reeve's still alive…" Vincent uttered as he sighed with relief.

"Yes," Shelke answered, "fortunately you didn't go down to the basement level. He's currently in his workshop, it could take a while Vincent, so until we find a way to rid Chaos of Illusion's control you'll have to go into stasis."

"No…" Vincent uttered as he backed away from Shelke.

"It's for your own good Vincent," Shelke told the man as she walked towards him holding out a piece of Materia. "As well as everyone else's." Vincent continued to back away but Shelke muttered a few words under her breath and Vincent suddenly felt a wave of unconsciousness hit him, he fell to the floor unconscious as Shelke, the blood, the dead bodies and the whole of WRO HQ began to fade.

* * *

Drogo walked through the mist as he searched for his friends, however his efforts were futile as the mist was so thick. Drogo could feel his heart pounding in his chest so he stopped and closed his eyes and meditated in order to calm himself down. When Drogo opened his eyes again he saw that the mist had gone and he was stood in the middle of his and Sunny's hometown. "Why am I here?" Drogo questioned, however he didn't have time to ponder the matter as he could smell smoke. "Smoke…" Drogo uttered as he sniffed up, "where's it coming from?"

Drogo ran down the street and he saw that one of the buildings was on fire, "fire!" Drogo yelled as he stared at the building in shock and it didn't take him long to realise that it was his and Sunny's house. "Sunny!" Drogo yelled as he ran towards the house.

"Hey! You can't run in there!" A fire fighter shouted as he blocked Drogo's path, "it's too dangerous!"

"My wife is in there!" Drogo screamed as he pushed passed the fire fighter. "I can't just stand here and do nothing!" Drogo ran over to the house and kicked the door in, he shielded himself as he was met by the glare of the flames before running in. "Sunny!" Drogo yelled before he coughed because of the smoke. "Sunny where are you?!"

"Drogo!" Sunny's panicked yell echoed throughout the house.

"Sunny!" Drogo yelled the woman's name again as he ran into the hall and quickly ran up the stairs. He kicked several doors down as he searched for Sunny, he eventually found in their bedroom lying on the bed. "Sunny!" Drogo shouted as he ran towards her. "Sunny…come on…don't fall asleep on me!" Drogo told Sunny as he shook her in an effort to wake her up.

Sunny let out a soft moan, Drogo quickly picked her up and carried her out of the room. He made his way to the stairs but as he got there some debris fell and blocked the stairs. "Shit!" Drogo cursed as he took a few steps back. He made his way to the spare bedroom and locked the door to stop the flames, he put Sunny down on the floor and opened the window before grabbing the mattress from the bed and throwing it out of the window. "Don't worry Sunny, I'm gonna get us both out of here," Drogo reassured his wife as he picked her up and walked towards the window. He took a deep breath before jumping out of the window with Sunny in his arms.

The two landed safely on the mattress and Drogo put Sunny down on it before placing his ear on her chest. "Shit! She's not breathing!" Drogo yelled as he quickly pressed his hands on Sunny's chest, "Come on Sunny…" Drogo called out Sunny as he pressed on her chest. "Wake up…" He opened up Sunny's airways and was dismayed that she still wasn't breathing so he pinched her nose shut with his thumb and index finger started to give her mouth to mouth. "Breathe Sunny…" Drogo uttered in between breaths as he started to press down again. "Come on breathe…" Drogo tried for half an hour but Sunny wasn't responding and Drogo had no choice but to stop. "No…" Drogo uttered as tears fell down his face, "no…it can't be…" he continued to utter as he picked Sunny up and cradled her in his arms. "You can't be dead…no…this isn't fair…this is too cruel…Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Drogo yelled his anguish to the heavens as he continued to hold to Sunny's body, he looked down at her and sobbed into her chest as everything became black.

* * *

"Yuffie! Vincent! Drogo!" Sunny called out desperately to her friends in an attempt to find them as she ran frantically through the mist, she ran this way and that but she couldn't find her friends. In the end she stopped and gave up just as the mist faded and she found herself on the beach in her hometown. "Why am I here?" She questioned as she looked around at the beach she used to play on when she was a child.

"_The beach is where it all happened…" _Max's voice echoed in her head. _"This is where he died…"_

"So this is where it happened…" Sunny uttered as she looked out to sea and sighed sadly to herself.

"Hello Sunny…" a familiar voice spoke to her, Sunny turned round and she saw a green furred hedgehog with black fringe spikes, sea green eyes and wearing a brown trench coat stood behind her.

"Spike…" Sunny uttered the man's name as she walked over to him, "it's so good to see you again…"

"Is it?" Spike questioned coldly causing Sunny to stop in her tracks.

"Of course it is," Sunny stated as she smiled at him while hot tears were stinging her eyes. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I was hoping you could tell me…" Spike answered as he walked towards Sunny.

"I don't understand…" Sunny questioned hurt and confused by Spike's behaviour.

"After our argument you couldn't be bothered to come after me," Spike snapped at Sunny as he scowled at her. "You couldn't be bothered to make it up to me…"

"We're brother and sister…" Sunny explained herself. "We're expected to argue…and we always made up afterwards…"

"You still could've found me…we could've made it up with each other but no…you left it…" Spike spat as he continued to glare at his younger sister.

"But you stormed off before I had chance to apologise…" Sunny uttered defensively. "I thought you needed some time to calm down…"

"What I needed was for my sister to be on my side!" Spike snapped at Sunny, "Instead you chose him over me!"

"Well you kept accusing him of being a criminal…" Sunny tried to reason with Spike but to no avail. "I had to say something."

"But I was right, because he killed me and murder is a crime!" Spike shouted at Sunny as he continued to glare at her.

"And he's been living with the guilt ever since," Sunny told Spike hoping it would offer him some comfort. "And…so have I…" Sunny added sadly as she hung her head.

"Oh…" Spike uttered as he raised his eyebrow.

"Yes…" Sunny answered as she nodded her head. "I've been living with the guilt because we had an argument and we weren't able to apologise to each other before you died…but I'm going to say it now…I'm sorry Spike."

"Well sorry doesn't quite cut it!" Spike snapped at Sunny as he turned his back on her.

"Spike…I'm not entirely blameless here…" Sunny told her brother as she walked up to him. "It was as much your fault as it was mine."

"No, the point is I was right about Max," Spike stated as he turned back round to face Sunny. "And you couldn't admit that you were wrong and now I'm going to haunt you as well as Max," Spike added before turning round and walking off.

"Spike…don't go!" Sunny called out to her brother but he had already left. "Spike don't do this!" Sunny yelled loudly before falling to her knees and crying into her arms before the whole scene faded round her.

* * *

"Sunny are you ok?" A familiar voice asked her.

"Huh…" Sunny uttered as she quickly looked up and saw Drogo kneeling down beside her. "Drogo…I thought I saw…" She started to say but she suddenly stopped in midsentence.

"You thought you saw who?" Drogo questioned as he gave Sunny an inquisitive stare.

"Never mind…" Sunny quickly answered as she staggered to her feet. "It's nothing…"

"You sure?" Drogo asked still concerned for Sunny.

"Yeah," Sunny answered as she nodded, "we should keep going."

"Man you're being calm about what you saw," Yuffie uttered as she stared at Sunny in surprise. "I mean what I saw terrified me…there was someone who's actually a better Materia hunter than me…"

"Which isn't too difficult…" Vincent muttered under his breath causing Yuffie to scowl at him.

"Hey!" She yelled as she gave Vincent a sharp dig in the chest, Vincent didn't flinch. "I resent that! Especially since I'm the greatest Materia Hunter ever!"

"I find that highly doubtful," Drogo stated as he agreed with Vincent.

"Oh…you're just mean!" Yuffie yelled at Drogo as she placed her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at him.

"When you've finished being childish," Vincent uttered as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Let's get going."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Vincent but she quickly pulled it back in again as he scowled at her, but he said nothing and turned round. The group made their way towards the door but a dark coloured barrier appeared blocking their path. "A barrier…" Sunny uttered as she stared at the dark barrier. "Do you suppose…"

"Yeah…" Drogo answered as he removed the katanas from their sheaths, "we've walked straight into a trap."

"Are you serious!" Yuffie yelled as she stared at Drogo.

"Sssshhhhh…" Drogo told Yuffie to be quiet as he slowly paced round the room before suddenly swinging his katanas round only to be met with a metallic clang. Drogo looked down and saw a strange looking sword before looking up and staring in shock at the wielder. "You…" He uttered as the stranger stepped out of the shadows to reveal Kadaj.

"So the katana wielding hedgehog actually remembered me…" Kadaj spoke as he smirked at Drogo.

Drogo merely growled before twisting his katanas round and freed them before pointing them at Kadaj. "What do you want?" He questioned as he scowled at Kadaj, Sunny, Yuffie and Vincent also saw him and took their weapons out before pointing them at him.

"Well, having you scared to death by your own fears didn't work so Illusion sent me to personally take care of you," Kadaj answered as he paced round the group.

"Ha, didn't I kick your ass back in Kalm?" Drogo questioned as he smirked at Kadaj.

"A mere fluke…" Kadaj answered quickly as he scowled at Drogo. "You just got lucky, but I'm stronger now."

"But you only took on Drogo last time," Vincent reminded the silver haired man. "Now you'll be taking on all four of us."

"Man, you really do have a death wish…"Yuffie mocked as she pulled faces at Kadaj.

"Shut up Yuffie!" Drogo and Vincent both snapped at the ninja and she shrank back slightly.

"You sure you wanna go for round two?" Drogo asked mockingly as he smirked at Kadaj.

Kadaj smirked back, "I only have two words to say…" Kadaj responded as he readied his weapon, "Let's play!" He yelled as he charged at the group dragging his sword behind him.

* * *

After searching several rooms, Max, Cloud, Tifa and Cid found a staircase which led down to the basement. The basement was a fairly large but dark room, lit only by the purple coloured lamps which hung from the ceiling and the basement was mostly empty except for large barrels and bottles of alcohol. "Alcohol…" Tifa uttered as she looked at all the giant barrels and the assorted wine bottles. "I thought Kitsunes couldn't tolerate alcohol."

"We can't," Max answered, "But Dark Kitsunes are the exact opposite, they have a high tolerance to alcohol."

"How high is their alcohol tolerance?" Cid questioned as he looked at Max.

"They could easily drink Reno and Rude under the table," Max answered with a smirk as Cid laughed.

"Damn…that's a high alcohol tolerance!" He yelled as he patted Max on the shoulder, "what about you and Nightshade?"

"Huh?" Max asked as he gave Cid a confused stare.

"Well, you and Nightshade are Kitsune and Dark Kitsune hybrids," Cid answered, "so does that mean that you have a slightly higher alcohol tolerance?"

"You'd think that wouldn't you?" Max answered as he smirked at Cid.

"I don't follow ya," Cid replied, it was his turn to be confused now.

"Even though me and my dad are hybrids we still have a very low tolerance to alcohol," Max explained as Cid nodded to show that he understood.

"Let's get going," Cloud commanded as he started to walk off, everyone else followed and they found a door on the other side of the basement. When they entered they found that they were in an even larger room which was completely empty. "Ok…this room is completely empty…"

"Not quite," Tifa spoke up, "it looks like a door over there…" She stated as she pointed to the door.

"It's another psyche lock door," Max stated as he saw a hand symbol on the door in place of a normal lock.

"Well hurry up and get the bloody thing open!" Cid ordered as he looked at Max.

"Hang on," Max spoke up as he stared back at Cid. "Give me a chance to get to the door…" The group began to make their way to the door but they were surrounded by thick mist which suddenly seeped into the room seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Hello!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs as he searched for his friends. "Cloud, Tifa, Max! Damn…I seriously need a smoke…" Cid muttered under his breath as he searched his pockets before remembering that he didn't have his cigarettes. "Oh yeah…I forgot the bitch in pink hid them…" Cid sighed, "shit…I really needed those cigarettes…"

As Cid continued to search for his friends the mist disappeared and he found himself on the Sierra. "What the hell?!" Cid cursed as he looked around the corridor, "why am I here?!" He questioned himself as he walked down the corridor and entered the bridge and he was shocked to see a technician working on the control panel. "What the hell are you doin' to ma ship?!" Cid yelled as he stormed over to the technician and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up.

"I…I was just installing an autopilot sir…" The pilot answered nervously as he looked at Cid.

"Autopilot…" Cid repeated the technician's words. "Why the hell are yer puttin' one of them in?!"

"Because Rufus Shinra ordered it sir," the technician answered still with that nervous tone.

"Why would he order somethin' like that?!" Cid continued to demand.

"I don't know…" the technician replied as he pulled himself free from Cid's grip and returned to his work. "Look, I'm just a technician, but Rufus himself will be here soon so why don't you ask him yourself?" The technician suggested as he continued with his work.

"The hell I will!" Cid cursed, he turned away from the technician just as Rufus entered the bridge. "Rufus you son of a bitch!" Cid yelled as he stormed over to Rufus. "What the hell are yer playin' at?! Installin' an autopilot device! I'm the best damn pilot in the world!" Cid boasted as he pointed to himself.

"I know you are Cid," Rufus replied calmly as he sighed. "And I appreciate all the help that you, Avalanche and Max and the others have given to WRO," Rufus told Cid as he gave the pilot a grateful nod. "We wouldn't have been able to help the Planet recover if it wasn't for your tireless efforts."

"I don't like where this is goin'…" Cid uttered as he gave Rufus a worried glance.

"Times are changing," Rufus continued to explain as he paced round Cid. "And technology is advancing, everything is pretty much done automatically now. I've ordered all the airships to be installed with an autopilot in order to keep up with times," Rufus told Cid. "Unfortunately that means…"

"That you're lettin' me go…" Cid finished Rufus' sentence.

"I'm sorry…" Rufus apologised as gave Cid a grave look.

"No yer not!" Cid yelled at Rufus, "All you care about is your damn money!"

"I didn't come to this decision lightly," Rufus calmly told Cid.

"After all these years of loyal service!" Cid continued to shout at Rufus, "and all you can say is sod off!"

"I'm not saying that…" Rufus started to say.

"It's bad enough that ya took the Shinra 26 and the Highwind from me!" Cid yelled as he reminded Rufus of the past. "Now you wanna take the Sierra away from me too!"

"The Sierra is part of the WRO fleet," Rufus told Cid. "And it's not just you we're letting go, all the other pilots will be let go as well but you won't be out of pocket."

"Just get out" Cid yelled at Rufus. "I wanna be alone with ma baby!"

"Cid think about this…" Rufus started to say.

"OUT!" Cid screamed at the top of his lungs causing Rufus to back away before leaving the room. "YOU TOO!" Cid shouted as he glared at the technician. The technician quickly stood up and ran out of the room, Cid looked around the Sierra, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He yelled loudly as he banged his fist on the control panel as the Sierra faded all around him.

* * *

"Max! Cid! Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she tried to find her comrades. "Where are you?!" She continued to yell as she ran through the mist looking left and right frantically. As she ran she saw the mist disappear all around her and she found herself in the Seventh Heaven. "The Seventh Heaven…" Tifa uttered as she looked around the bar. "Why am I here?" Tifa walked up to the bar just as Cloud walked through carrying a large bag. "Cloud…" Tifa uttered as she stared at the bag he was carrying over his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving," Cloud answered blankly as he walked out from behind the bar.

"Leaving…" Tifa uttered as she stared at Cloud in shock. "Why?"

"Because I have to…" Cloud answered without looking at Tifa.

"I need an answer!" Tifa demanded as she walked in front of Cloud blocking his path. "Is it because you don't love me anymore…" Tifa uttered as she gave Cloud a tearful look.

Cloud sighed, "Tifa, it's because I love you that I have to leave," Cloud replied as he gave her a sad look. "I'm scared that Sephiroth will return."

"But we defeated him…" Tifa reminded Cloud as she smiled at him.

"This time…" Cloud stated clearly unconvinced by Tifa's reassurance. "But he'll find a way to come back…he always does…"

"If he does come back again, we'll defeat him, like we did the last three times." Tifa replied as she reached out and took hold of Cloud's hand.

"I appreciate your support," Cloud told Tifa as he smiled at her. "But…Sephiroth will use you against me."

"I won't let him," Tifa stated defiantly.

"I can't take that chance…" Cloud uttered sadly as tears formed in his eyes. "It's better this way…" he whispered as he pulled his hand away from Tifa's and started to walk towards the door.

"Why are you doing this?!" Tifa screamed causing Cloud to stop and turn round and stare at her. "Why are you letting the past get to you again?!" Cloud said nothing, but he stared at Tifa in shock. He had never heard her yell like that before. "When can we get to the point where you'll actually let go of the past and move on?!"

"I want to move on…" Cloud told Tifa, "but too much damage has been done…I can't forget the past…"

"So there really is no future for us…" Tifa uttered as she stared at Cloud with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry Tifa…" Cloud apologised as he stared sadly at her. "You deserve someone else…someone who'll treat you right…someone who won't let the past get in the way of their future…"

"I don't want anyone else!" Tifa cried as she walked over to Cloud again. "I want you!"

"We can't be together…" Cloud told Tifa. "Not until I can fully rid myself of Sephiroth…he may be dead, but he still lives on in spirit…too strong to fully die…"

"Only because you're letting him live!" Tifa yelled at Cloud. "I know you can't erase the past but you have to let go!"

"I love you Tifa…" Cloud whispered to Tifa as he kissed her on the lips. Tifa kissed Cloud back and she held on to him tightly, never wanting to let go, never wanting that tender moment to end. Cloud eventually stopped kissing Tifa and he took a few steps back. "Goodbye Tifa…" Cloud stated sadly before turning round and walking out of the door. Tifa watched sadly as Cloud left and the door shut behind him, she started to sob as she fell to her knees hardly daring to believe that Cloud walked out of her life once again. "We were going to go on vacation together…" she cried as she balled into her arms as the Seventh Heaven started to disappear.

* * *

"What's happening?" Cloud questioned as he looked round but he couldn't see anything through the mist. "Max, Cid, Tifa! Where is everyone?!" Cloud called out to his friends hoping against hope that they could hear him but he got no response. Cloud sighed, but he refused to give up so he walked further into the mist and he saw it fade before his eyes and he found himself outside the Seventh Heaven. "How did I end up here?" Cloud questioned as he looked at the building, nevertheless he felt the need to enter, Cloud walked over to the door and opened it. "Hello?!" Cloud called out as he entered the bar to find that it was empty. "Tifa! Cloud called out the raven haired woman's name as he walked round the bar and peered into the living area at the back.

"Maybe she can't hear me…" Cloud uttered as he walked through and searched downstairs for Tifa. After being unable to find her downstairs he began to search upstairs, "Tifa! Where are you?!" Cloud yelled again as he began to search the rooms upstairs, he didn't find Tifa in the bathroom or any of the spare bedrooms so he made his way to his and Tifa's room. As he approached the door he sensed that something wasn't right, nevertheless he opened the door, "Tifa…" Cloud uttered as he stepped into the room, he gasped in shock as he saw blood everywhere. He walked further into the room and he saw Tifa lay on the floor next to the window unmoving.

"Tifa!" Cloud yelled as he ran over to her, he knelt down beside her and cradled her in his arms. He looked down and saw a large wound in her stomach. "Tifa...please wake up…"

Tifa moaned as she began to stir, she opened her eyes and stared at Cloud. "Cloud…" she muttered weakly barely above a whisper.

"Yeah…" Cloud told her as he took hold of her hand, "What happened?"

"S…Sephiroth…he…he came back…" Tifa explained as she continued to look up at Cloud.

"He can't be…" Cloud uttered as he stared at Tifa in shock.

"He was…looking for you…he wanted to…settle the score…" Tifa continued to explain as she moaned in pain. "I refused to tell him where you were…so he…he ran me through…"

"It's ok Tifa…" Cloud whispered to Tifa as he continued to cradle her in his arms. "I'm here now…I'm gonna heal that wound…"

"You can't…it's too deep…" Tifa told Cloud as she found herself getting weaker.

"There has to be something I can do…" Cloud uttered tears forming in his eyes.

"Take care of Marlene and Denzel for me…" Tifa told Cloud her dying wish. "They need you…more than ever now…"

"Don't talk like that…" Cloud told Tifa as he felt himself wanting to cry. "Don't talk like this is the end…"

"Cloud…I just want you to know that…" Tifa started to say before moaning in pain. "That I…love you…"

"I love you too…" Cloud told Tifa as he kissed her on the lips, her lips were cold and Cloud could feel both his tears and Tifa's tears on his face before he stopped kissing Tifa. Tifa moaned one last time before closing her eyes and fell perfectly still, never to move again. "Tifa…" Cloud called out the woman's name as he shook her, however she didn't respond. "TIFA!" Cloud screamed his anguish out loud before looking down at Tifa's body, he lifted her up and cried into her body as everything around him went black.

* * *

"It's that mist again…" Max uttered as he remembered seeing the mist before. "That can't be good, I better find the others quick." Max continued as he began to search for his friends, eventually the mist disappeared and Max found himself in a strange room. "Where am I?" Max questioned as he looked round the room, "where's everyone else?"

Max continued to explore the room and he saw someone stood near the window with their back to him. "Pandora…" Max questioned as he walked closer, the person turned around and sure enough it was Pandora but something was wrong. Her eyes were glazed over and she looked completely out of it, "Pandora…" Max called out to her again.

Pandora saw Max and she smirked evilly at him before kicking him in the face and sending him flying. "Must kill Max…" Pandora muttered monotonously as she walked towards him and placed her foot on him to prevent him from getting up.

"Pandora…please…" Max begged his wife. "It's me Max…your husband…"

"My orders are to kill you…" Pandora stated still in that same blank tone which caused Max to stare at her in shock.

"I'm too late…" Max whispered sadly as his ears drooped, "Pandora's nothing more than a puppet…please Pandora…snap out of this…"

"Say goodnight…" Pandora uttered she smirked evilly as she lifted her foot up and started to bring it down point first on to Max's head.

* * *

Max quickly raised his arms up to his head in order to protect and he closed his eyes as he waited for the blow that would end his life. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Max before opening his eyes and he saw that he was sat on the floor in the basement of Illusion's castle with Cloud, Tifa and Cid staring down at him.

"Are you ok?" Tifa questioned her voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah…" Max replied as he looked up at the group. "For a second I thought…" he started to say.

"You thought what?" Cloud questioned as he held his hand out to help Max to his feet.

Max took Cloud's hand he stood up, "Pandora was attacking me," Max told his friends.

"Ya must've been hallucinatin'," Cid told Max as Max gave him a confused stare.

"Pandora's not here," Tifa told Max. "We haven't found her yet."

"We have to hurry," Max told the others as he started to run for the door. "We have to save her before it's too late!"

"Wait Max!" Tifa called out the Kitsune as she, Cloud and Cid ran after him. The group reached the door but skidded to a stop as a flash of purple light appeared and Sephiroth was stood in front of them.

"Sephiroth…" the group uttered at the same time.

"So we meet again…" Sephiroth uttered calmly as he smirked evilly at the group.

"I wish we could say the same for you," Max retorted as he and his friends took out their weapons. "But you're in our way."

"I'm impressed that you all made it this far," Sephiroth stated as he slowly took his sword out of its sheath. "Too bad it all ends here!" He yelled before charging at the group, Cloud and Max barely blocked Sephiroth's attack with their own swords and a metallic clang echoed through out the room as they got into a three way fight.

Meanwhile Scarlet kicked off a wall and launched herself at Elena dodging the bullets that Rude and Tseng were firing at her. She kicked Elena in the face sending her flying, she landed on the floor and quickly rolled out of the way as Scarlet slammed her foot down where Elena's head was a few seconds before. Elena quickly leapt to her feet and pulled her gun out and she fired at Scarlet hitting her in the leg. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Scarlet yelled in pain as she looked at the wound which quickly healed before looking up at Elena and scowled at her. "You'll pay for that!" She screamed at Elena.

"Bring it on bitch!" Elena retorted as she did a just bring it sign. Scarlet snarled before launching herself at Elena, Elena blocked her with her fists and launched into a punch and kick combo of her own.

"Whoa…" Reno uttered as he stared at Elena in shock.

"She's good…" Rude stated just as shocked at Reno was. After much furious kicking and punching Elena finally saw an opening and performed an upper cut on Scarlet sending her flying into the air. Elena then leapt up and punched Scarlet causing her to slam down into the floor.

Nero created several dark portals round him and he shot into two of them causing bullets to fly out of the portals. Aerith and Zack used their Life Stream abilities to deflect the bullets away while Lance held his spear out, Angel leapt on to the spear and Lance launched her into Nero's direction, Angel swung her blades round causing her to spin as she flew towards Nero. As she reached Nero she swung her blades round catching Nero completely by surprise and she cut him two places. She landed gracefully on her feet and she continued to swing her blades round like a demon possessed. However Nero was ready for her this time as he summoned two dark blades and blocked her attacks.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Nero heard a yell as Zack leapt upwards and held his sword down above Nero's head. Nero disappeared in a portal of darkness just as Zack's sword slammed into the ground where Nero's head was a few seconds before.

Nero then reappeared behind Aerith and was about to strike her with his dark blades. However Aerith sensed him and she quickly summoned a sword and easily blocked his attack. Nero stared at Aerith in shock, "How…" he uttered as the sheer force of Aerith's blocked knocked him back.

"I've had training," Aerith answered as she struck at Nero again forcing him back. "A girl's gotta defend herself." Lance, Zack and Angel saw this and they rushed over to help Aerith, all four of them attacked at the same time causing Nero to be sent flying backwards, he summoned a dark portal and disappeared into it as he fell towards the ground.

Meanwhile, Barret opened fire at Balthazar, but the Kitsune merely deflected the bullets using his psychic abilities. "Pathetic…" he mocked as he smirked at Barret. "Your weapons are no match for me…" Balthazar was so focused on Barret that he failed to see that Red was behind him until the red beast charged at him and knocked him to the ground before scratching and clawing at him in every available spot. Balthazar eventually pushed Red off him but Nightshade soon joined in the fray, he picked Balthazar up and threw him into the air before leaping up himself. Nightshade and Balthazar launched into a punching and kicking frenzy, Balthazar punched Nightshade in the jaw as Nightshade punched Balthazar in the stomach.

Isis saw that Balthazar had left an opening so she leapt up and summoned two hand guns, as she got close to Balthazar she opened fire and bullets riddled Balthazar's body. Balthazar fell to the floor as Nightshade and Isis landed in front of him. Balthazar staggered slowly to his feet before laughing, "Is that the best you can do?" He questioned as the bullet wounds, healed up and the bullets fell out of Balthazar's body. The group were in so much shock that they failed to notice that Balthazar was charging up a psycho blast attack until he unleashed it and they were sent flying into the far wall.

"It's no use…" Isis uttered as she fell to the floor along with the others. "My bullets aren't even fazing him…"

"We need to weaken him," Nightshade told the others. "We need to combine our attacks."

"Right," the other three uttered in unison as they staggered slowly to their feet. They let out a cry as they all charged at Balthazar at the same time.

A metallic clang could be heard as Drogo and Kadaj were having a one on one fight with their katanas. Kadaj swung his katana but Drogo easily blocked it with his left hand katana while striking at Kadaj with his right hand katana. Meanwhile, Yuffie, Vincent and Sunny were dealing with the shadow beasts that Kadaj had summoned. Yuffie charged at one of the shadow beasts and stabbed her giant shuriken into the beast's back causing it scream in pain. It snapped at Yuffie as she leapt up but it missed her. She leapt on to its back and dragged the shuriken through its back before pulling it out and leaping off the beast, the beast roared in pain before it fell to the floor dead and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Yuffie landed safely on the ground and smirked as she rested her shuriken on her shoulder for a second before charging off towards the next shadow beast.

Sunny had quickly taken an arrow out of her quiver and loaded it into her bow as a shadow beast charged at her. Sunny took a deep breath and carefully aimed at the beast before releasing the arrow, the arrow hit the beast right between the eyes. The beast roared in pain as it staggered around before falling to the floor dead and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Sunny quickly loaded another arrow into her bow before quickly and gracefully turning round and firing the arrow hitting another shadow beast in the heart before it too fell to the floor dead and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Meanwhile Vincent had transformed into Galian Beast and tackled one of the shadow beasts pinning it to the ground. He roared at it before clawing it in several areas before picking it up in his mouth and swinging it round so that it hit several other shadow beasts that charged at him. Vincent then released the shadow beast in mid swing causing it to crash into the other shadow beasts completely stunning them. Vincent then formed an orange coloured ball in his mouth before several orange coloured balls appeared round the shadow beasts and Vincent performed his devastating Beast Flare attack which incinerated the shadow beasts.

Kadaj saw this and growled angrily before striking at Drogo again twice as hard as before but Drogo easily blocked it. "Too slow…" Drogo taunted before striking back, Kadaj growled again before jabbing his sword forwards but Drogo stepped back and jabbed with one of his katanas into Kadaj's stomach.

Kadaj moaned in pain before looking down and seeing the katana lodged in his stomach, he looked up at Drogo and smirked. "Just a scratch…" he muttered before pulling the katana out and he rose his sword up preparing to do an over head strike but Drogo performed a high kick on Kadaj's arm knocking the sword out of his hand before plunging both of his katanas into Kadaj's stomach. Kadaj moaned and staggered back in pain as Drogo removed the katanas. "Is that the best you can do?" Kadaj questioned as he gave Drogo a pained grin.

"Oh I'm not finished yet…" Drogo stated as he grinned evilly, "My friends still want a piece of you." Before Kadaj could even respond Yuffie charged up and started to attack him repeatedly with her giant shuriken causing blood to spurt out every where with each strike. Sunny loaded three arrows into her bow and imbued them with Holy magic before aiming at Kadaj and firing the Holy arrows, the three arrows all landed in Kadaj's back and glowed as the Holy power entered Kadaj's body burning him from the inside.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kadaj screamed in pain as he felt the Holy power burn his insides and he staggered round in pain with the arrows still lodged in his back.

Kadaj stopped as he bumped into something and he looked up to see Vincent (who had reverted back to his human form) stood in front of him smirking and pointing Cerberus at Kadaj's head. "Say goodnight," Vincent uttered evilly before pulling the trigger and three bullets were shot into Kadaj's forehead. Kadaj fell to the floor dead with three bullet holes in his forehead oozing blood before he dissolved and a bone was lying there where Kadaj's body was a few seconds before the group walked over and looked at the bone before Drogo crushed it under his foot.

Meanwhile Scarlet had launched herself at Rude and kicked out at him but Rude quickly grabbed her foot. Scarlet struggled wildly as Rude threw her, she performed a backward somersault in midair and landed gracefully on her feet quickly dodging a punch as Rude lunged at her. The two continued in this fashion punching and kicking each other, Rude punched Scarlet in the face causing her to scowl at him. "My beautiful face!" She screamed as she snarled at Rude showing her sharp teeth before kicking Rude in the stomach and sending him flying across the room.

Scarlet smirked at the downed Turk before she felt an electric shock in her shoulder, "you mess with Rude then ya mess with me," Reno stated as he smirked at Scarlet and tapped his nightstick on his shoulder. Scarlet growled before kicking out at Reno, Reno quickly held his nightstick out in front of him and quickly moved it in several directions in order to block Scarlet's kicks. However he soon began to tire quickly and he found it harder and harder to keep up with Scarlet's kicks. "Shit!" He cursed as he lifted his nightstick up to his face just in time as Scarlet was about to punch it. "Hold still!" He yelled at her.

"Sorry, no can do!" Scarlet shouted before smirking evilly, she performed a sweeping kick knocking Reno off his feet, she kicked him in the stomach as he fell to the floor. She smirked at Reno and lifted her foot up, "it's a shame you're cute…" she uttered as she stood there with one foot up. "It just makes it harder to kill you…oh well…" Scarlet quickly brought her foot down but a fist flew out of nowhere and punched Scarlet in the face knocking her flying.

Scarlet looked at her attacker as she was sent flying and she saw Elena stood there with her fist raised. "You mess with him…" She started to yell just as Scarlet reached the other side of the room and was punched in the face again and was sent flying to another corner of the room.

"You mess with all of us," Rude finished Elena's sentence as he cracked his knuckles and watched as Scarlet was punched again at another corner of the room and she was knocked back into the centre again.

"And now you'll see what the Turks are really made of," Tseng stated as he, Elena and Rude walked towards her. Reno had managed to stand up and was also walking towards Scarlet, soon the Turks had her surrounded.

"Four against one, hardly fair…" Scarlet protested as she looked from one to the other.

"That's because we're a team," Tseng told her. "That's how we work best."

"Your time is up," Elena added as she smirked at Scarlet before massaging her fists. Scarlet stared at the four Turks in shock as they punched and kicked her at the same time, Tseng punched Scarlet in the face before he scissor kicked her in the stomach. He then round house kicked her towards Elena, Elena punched and kicked Scarlet repeatedly in the stomach before punching her in the face.

Scarlet staggered round injured before she received a tap on the shoulder, she turned round and saw Reno stood behind her smirking. "My name is Reno and I'm your air host for today, hope you enjoy the flight," he remarked before punching Scarlet and sending her flying. He then charged up his nightstick before running towards her. "Although we will be experiencing some turbulence!" He yelled before jumping up and striking Scarlet with the nightstick causing 30,000 volts to surge through her body. Scarlet fell to the floor electrocuted and her body dissolved to reveal a skull. The Turks smirked at the skull before Rude picked it up and crushed it in his hand.

Nero had reappeared behind Lance and lunged at him with his dark swords, however Lance quickly leapt out of the way and swung his spear round catching Nero in the side. Nero winced in pain before scowling at Lance and he sliced Lance in the side with his swords. "Uuuhhhh…" Lance moaned in pain as he fell to the floor holding his side.

"Lance!" Angel yelled as she Nero hit Lance. She scowled at Nero before charging at him, she leapt up into the air and brought her blades down underneath her.

Nero was stood over Lance smirking, the wound in his side slowly began to heal. He kicked Lance in the stomach causing him to moan in pain again. "Pathetic…" Nero uttered as he took one of his guns out and pointed it at Lance's heart, he was about to pull the trigger but he suddenly stood their frozen on the spot, his eyes were wide in pain. Nero turned his head round and saw Angel stood behind him her blades were stabbed deep into Nero's back. "You…bitch…" Nero uttered before groaning in pain as Angel twisted her blades round doubling Nero's pain.

"That's MY husband you were about to kill!" Angel yelled at Nero, "and now I'm gonna kill you!" Nero twisted and turned and tried to throw Angel and the blades off him but Angel held on tightly to her blades, keeping them in Nero's back. Nero tried to use his dark powers to heal the wounds but the wounds couldn't heal because Angel's blades were still in his back.

Lance, Zack and Aerith noticed this and Zack and Aerith looked at each other and nodded before charging at Nero dragging their swords behind them and they stabbed the swords into Nero's sides and held them in place. Nero yelled in pain and glared at Zack and Aerith, "how…" he uttered as he continued to glare at them.

"Your healing powers only work when there's no weapon in the wounds," Aerith answered as she stabbed her sword deeper into Nero's right side.

"Hence why we're keeping our weapons inside you," Zack added as he stabbed his sword deeper into Nero's left side.

"So we can easily defeat you," Lance concluded as he staggered to his feet. "Good bye Nero," Lance finally said as he stabbed his spear into Nero's stomach, before Nero could react Lance quickly pulled his spear upwards through Nero's stomach, neck and head cutting him in half. Both halves fell on the floor before exploding to reveal a severed hand cut in half.

Angel stabbed both her blades into the two halves of the severed hand. "I hate these things…" Angel uttered in disgust as she stared at the two halves. Lance placed his hand on Angel's shoulder and she pulled the blades out of the two halves of the hand sheathed them. "Oh Lance, you're hurt," Angel uttered.

"I'm ok," Lance told Angel before wincing in pain. Angel sighed sadly before placing her hand on Lance's side where Nero had struck him and she cast a healing spell on the wound. When Angel removed her hand the wound was gone. "Thanks Angel," Lance replied gratefully as he hugged Angel. "I wonder how the others are doing."

Meanwhile Balthazar was still giving Nightshade, Barret, Red and Isis a hard time. He used his psychic powers to deflect their attacks. In the end the group decided to combine their attacks in order to defeat Balthazar. Nightshade and Red charged at Balthazar at the same time, Red rammed himself into Balthazar knocking him into the air. He then grabbed Balthazar's centre tail and started to swing him round and round.

Nightshade then leapt up and punched Balthazar in the face repeatedly before grabbing Balthazar. Red released Balthazar and Nightshade kicked downwards slamming Balthazar into the floor. Red and Nightshade both landed on him and punched, kicked and clawed him. Balthazar used his psychic powers to propel them into the air. But Isis had ran up while Balthazar was busy with Red and Nightshade, she was now right above Balthazar and was holding two submachine guns and she quickly opened fire on Balthazar before he even hand chance to stand up. Balthazar's body violently shook as machine gun bullets continued to be pumped into him. Isis landed on the floor next to Balthazar and continued to open fire but Balthazar used his telekinesis to knock the guns out of her hands.

He rose to his feet and glared at the group as his body was riddled with bullet holes, "is that really the best you can do?" He questioned as he glared at the group.

"We ain't done yet!" Barret yelled from behind Balthazar, Balthazar turned round and stared at Barret. Barret smirked at Balthazar as his gun arm was charged with energy.

"Now Barret!" Nightshade ordered as he looked at his comrade.

"Ok, eat this!" Barret yelled as a giant ball of energy shot out of the gun arm, Nightshade, Red and Isis leapt out of the way just in time as the energy ball got closer. Balthazar's eyes grew wide with shock as the energy ball hit him and exploded on impact, the group shielded their eyes as they were met by a bright glare. When the explosion cleared the group opened their eyes and they saw a severed foot where Balthazar was a few seconds earlier. "Gross…" Barret uttered as he stared at the foot in disgust. Isis sighed before taking her handgun out and shooting the severed foot repeatedly. "Thanks," Barret replied as he smiled at Isis, Isis nodded in acknowledgement. "I hope everyone else is ok."

Meanwhile Sephiroth had forced both Max and Cloud back with a single swing of his sword. They both slammed into the wall and slumped down. "Humph…" Sephiroth uttered as he smirked at the two. "You're both pathetic." Cloud and Max moaned as they looked up at Sephiroth, Sephiroth merely laughed before swinging his sword round. Max and Cloud quickly rolled out of the way as the sword passed them, they leapt to their feet and pointed their swords at Sephiroth.

"You missed," Max uttered as he smirked at Sephiroth.

"I won't miss next time," Sephiroth remarked as the three resumed fighting. The three exchanged blows at such speed that it was difficult to keep up with them. Cid and Tifa were on the sidelines waiting for the right time to intervene and it wasn't long before Sephiroth had both Max and Cloud backed into a corner again.

"Cloud! Max!" Tifa yelled before running towards Sephiroth, Sephiroth was about to run Cloud and Max through with his sword when Tifa leapt on top of Sephiroth and started to punch him repeatedly in the head. "Leave them alone!" She screamed at Sephiroth as she kept punching him.

Sephiroth sighed before throwing Tifa off him, Tifa landed on the floor and looked up at Sephiroth as he placed his foot on her stomach. "Foolish girl…" he uttered as he scowled at Tifa. "You wish to challenge me…"

"I won't let you harm Cloud, or Max," Tifa uttered defiantly.

"Then you'll die," Sephiroth calmly told her as he brought his sword overhead and he was about to perform a vertical slice on Tifa when four metallic clangs could be heard.

Tifa looked up and she saw Cloud, Max and Cid stood over her, their weapons clashed against Sephiroth's sword to prevent him from killing her. "Guys!" Tifa yelled happily as she smiled at her friends.

"Don't worry Tifa," Cloud reassured the raven haired woman as he, Max and Cid pushed Sephiroth back giving Tifa some room. "We'll protect you."

Tifa stood up and stood beside Cloud, "no, we do this together," she told Cloud as she readied her fists. "Just like old times."

Cloud looked at Tifa and smiled at her, "just like old times," he repeated before the group looked at Sephiroth. "You're finished…" Cloud added as he smirked at Sephiroth.

"I'll come back," Sephiroth told Cloud as he smirked at the blond haired man.

"Then we'll defeat you again and again," Cloud retorted. "And it'll give me great pleasure to rid the world of you." Max, Cid and Tifa nodded before they all charged at Sephiroth. Cid thrust his spear out at Sephiroth and he kept striking at him, Sephiroth blocked the spear with his sword. Cid then quickly spun his spear round creating a whirlwind which knocked Sephiroth into the air. Tifa then leapt up and punched Sephiroth repeatedly followed by a backward somersault. She then grabbed Sephiroth's leg and threw him before launching herself at him again she grabbed him again and turned her body and Sephiroth's body around so that they were both facing the floor and she slammed Sephiroth into the ground creating a giant crater from the impact. Tifa landed flawlessly next to him, Sephiroth looked at Tifa, he was in a weakened state.

Cloud and Max then leapt up into the air and thrust their swords down into Sephiroth's chest, they twisted their swords before removing the swords and Sephiroth lay their lifeless before his body dissolved and was replaced by a bone. "Do you want to do the honours?" Max asked as he picked the bone up and held it out to Cloud.

"Gladly," Cloud answered as he took the bone and crushed it in his hands and he dropped the dust on to the floor.

"I'm glad that's over," Tifa stated in relief.

"No, we still have to save Pandora," Max reminded Tifa. "Come on, we need to get the door open." The group walked over to the door and Max placed his hand on the symbol. He closed his eyes as he solved the telepathic puzzles in the lock before the door opened. "Let's go," Max commanded and the group walked through the door.

In all the other rooms after the defeat of Sephiroth, Kadaj, Scarlet, Balthazar and Nero doors appeared and the barriers were removed from the doors. The groups walked through the doors and found themselves in corridors. The groups walked along the corridors and found themselves in a circular room with six doors, as the groups entered the room they saw the other groups enter the room at the same time. They walked to the centre of the room and joined together again. "What are the odds that those doors would lead to the same room?" Zack questioned as he looked at everyone.

"Is everyone ok?" Sunny asked all her friends out of concern.

"Yeah," everyone answered in perfect unison.

"I'm just glad we're all together again," Max stated as he smiled at everyone. "Come on, let's go." He commanded as he started to run to the sixth door, everyone followed him and they ran through the door. They found themselves in another short corridor before entering another room which looked like some kind of lab. The group looked around and they saw Pandora sat in a chair with a helmet on her head, "Pandora!" Max called out to Pandora but she didn't respond. "Pandora!" Max called her name out again but she still didn't respond.

Max sighed and started to walk over to Pandora but Nightshade reached out and stopped him, "whoa there…" he called out to Max as he pulled him back.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Max questioned as he stared at Nightshade.

"I don't like this," Nightshade answered as he looked round the room. "Something's not right."

"But…we're just inches away from Pandora…" Max uttered as he pointed at Pandora.

"It feels too easy to me," Nightshade warned Max. "Like…Illusion's expecting us, be careful."

"I'll be fine," Max told Nightshade as he pulled himself free from his father's grip and walked over to Pandora. Max stopped in front of Pandora and knelt down beside her, he slowly removed the metal bands that were binding her to the chair and he looked at the helmet before removing it. Max then gently shook Pandora. "Pandora…" Max whispered in his wife's ear as he gently shook her again.

Pandora's eyes fluttered open and she stared at Max for a moment before her eyes narrowed and she lifted her foot up and kicked Max sending him flying. "Max!" Cloud yelled as he started to run towards Max to help him but Nightshade stopped him.

"No, this is something he has to do alone," Nightshade told Cloud. Cloud stood there and watched as Pandora walked over to Max.

"Pandora…" Max uttered as he looked up at her, "It's me…Max…"

"Max…" Pandora uttered as she staggered back for a moment before glaring at Max again. "You must die!" She yelled in a voice that wasn't her own as she slammed her foot down, Max rolled out of the way just in time and leapt to his feet. Pandora kicked out at Max again but he dodged it, she then punched him but he ducked and Pandora's punch passed over Max's head. "Fight me!" Pandora screamed as she punched him in the face.

"No…" Max uttered as he stood there.

"I said fight!" Pandora continued to scream as she cast a fire spell at him. The fire spell hit Max but he didn't flinch or show any sign that it hurt, rather he remained still. Pandora stared at Max in shock that he wasn't fighting back. "Why aren't you fighting back?!" She demanded as she kicked him in the stomach and knocked him to the ground.

"Because I don't want to fight you," Max answered as he staggered to his feet and looked at Pandora, his expression was sad. "This isn't who you are, Illusion has brainwashed you…you have to snap out of it."

"I…" Pandora uttered as doubt began to flood her mind, however it was quickly replaced by determination to kill Max. "I'll kill you!" She screamed as she focused a nova spell in her foot and launched herself at Max but Max quickly grabbed her and kissed her passionately on the lips. Pandora struggled at first but memories of her and Max's adventures together and their first kiss flooded into her mind and she fell into the kiss, the nova spell in her foot disappeared as Illusion's brainwashing was shattered by Max's kiss. After a while Max released Pandora and she opened her eyes, "Max…" Pandora uttered she stared at him in shock.

"I'm here," Max told Pandora as he kept hold of her.

"What happened?" She questioned.

"You were brainwashed into trying to kill me," Max explained to her. "We came here to rescue you."

Pandora was about to say something but the group heard the sound of clapping, the group turned round and they saw Illusion flanked by numerous guards enter the room. "So you managed to infiltrate my castle," she spoke to the group as they ran over to Max and Pandora and took their weapons out. Illusion merely laughed, "But unfortunately for you it all ends here."

"Want us to take care of them?" One of the guards asked Illusion.

"No," Illusion answered as she shook her head and stepped forwards. "I shall take care of them myself." Illusion laughed as she slowly removed her robes to reveal a purple coloured breast plate lined with gold and a short purple chain mail shirt under the breast plate. She wore elbow length purple gauntlets and purple knee length armoured boots. She wore a gold coloured belt with a purple cloth draped down the centre of her legs. The group stared at Illusion in shock, "now I shall show you all my true power!" Illusion yelled as she summoned a spear into her hand and spun it round.

The group charged at Illusion but she easily blocked their attacks with her spear, she then launched into a vicious attack combo of her own completely knocking the group back. Cid and Lance both charged at Illusion and the three engaged in a spear fight, Illusion spun her spear round like a windmill blocking both Lance and Cid's attacks at the same time. Lance and Cid continued on the offensive, Lance managed to knock Illusion back stunning her for a moment giving Cid the opportunity. Cid swung his spear round and cut Illusion the side, Illusion leapt back and snarled at the two before using her telekinesis to knock them both back.

Tifa and Aerith charged at Illusion next but Illusion merely created balls of dark energy around her, "Try and dodge this!" She yelled before launching the dark energy balls at the group. The group easily dodged the dark energy balls and Max, Cloud, Drogo, Zack and Nightshade even swung their swords round at the right moment and sent them flying back to Illusion. "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh!" Illusion cried out in pain as the dark energy balls hit her and stunned her, Aerith and Tifa saw their chance and they charged at Illusion and launched into a double team punching and kicking combo kicking and punching Illusion in every available spot. Tifa picked Illusion up and threw her into the air before Aerith cast a powerful Holy spell on Illusion, the spell seared her body causing her even more pain. She landed back on the floor again and scowled at the group. "You'll pay for that!" She screamed before floating into the air and casting a powerful dark lightning spell which covered the entire room.

Drogo, Red and Yuffie looked at each other as they used their speed and dexterity to dodge the lightning bolts and quickly made their way to Illusion. Illusion cast several dark fire bolts at the group which hit them but they weren't too badly injured. Drogo looked down at Sunny and she smirked as she focused her magic and Drogo's katanas glowed with Holy energy, Drogo smirked as he struck at Illusion. Illusion blocked each of Drogo's strikes with her spear which wasn't in her hand at the moment but was being controlled by Illusion telekinetically. Yuffie threw her shuriken at the spear while Red charged at it knocking the spear away. Drogo saw his chance and he swung both his katanas together and he repeatedly struck Illusion with the katanas, the Holy power burning through her skin. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! It burns!" She yelled as she used her telekinesis to throw Drogo, Red and Yuffie back but the last attack had taken its toll on her and she fell to the ground stunned. The rest of the group saw their chance and they charged at her, Cloud and Max combined their attacks together to perform a double cross slash attack, while Isis, Vincent and Barret opened fire with their guns. With the whole group attacking Illusion it was starting to take its toll so she used her dark power to throw them all back.

Illusion staggered to feet panting at the group, the group stood there staring at Illusion, "it's over Illusion!" Max called out the Dark Kitsune. "This ends now!"

Illusion merely laughed, "It's not over till it's over!" Illusion yelled before raising her arm into the air and creating a dark coloured portal. "If you wish to end it then follow me!" She yelled before jumping into the portal.

The group looked at the portal, "what shall we do?" Angel questioned as she stared at it.

"I'm going in," Max stated as he walked towards the portal.

"No!" Pandora called out to Max as she grabbed hold of his arm. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"I have to stop her," Max told Pandora. "If I don't, who knows what'll happen."

"You're going alone…" Pandora uttered as she gave Max a worried look.

"She's weakened, it won't take all of us," Max stated as he looked down at Pandora.

"I'll go with him," Cloud volunteered as he stepped up.

"Be careful Cloud," Tifa pleaded as she gave him a worried look.

Cloud kissed Tifa on the lips, "I'll be fine," he reassured Tifa. "Stay here."

"Ok," Tifa answered as she stepped back.

"You be careful too Max," Pandora begged as she kissed Max. "Cos if anything happens to you I'll kill you myself."

"I will be careful," Max promised Pandora. "We won't be too long, you guys get out of here."

Cloud and Max said goodbye to their friends before jumping into the portal, everyone else looked at the spot where the portal was before they started to make their way out of the castle. Meanwhile Cloud and Max found themselves in a strange world that had a dark purple sky and they found themselves on a large floating platform. "Where are we?" Cloud questioned as he looked around the strange place.

"This must be Illusion's dimension," Max stated as he too looked around.

"It looks different to your dimension," Cloud remarked as he looked at Max.

"A dimension is different from person to person," Max informed Cloud as they stepped into the middle of the platform. "A dimension is also based on a person's intentions, because Illusion is evil her dimension reflects that."

"I see…" Cloud uttered as he continued to look around. "But where could she be?"

"I'm not sure," Max answered, "But we need to be careful now. Illusion has an advantage here." Max and Cloud were so busy looking around for Illusion that they didn't see a dark portal appear behind them and Illusion lunged at them. Max and Cloud dodged out of the way just in time and Illusion landed on the ground, Max and Cloud looked at her and they saw that she looked different. Her claws were now out and were digging into the floor, her fangs were more prominent and her hair and fur was standing up on end and she had a more feral look to her. (**A/N, the form that Illusion is in is known as Feral Form, it is the form that Dark Kitsunes go into when they are angry or on their last legs.**)

"Whoa!" Cloud yelled in shock as he leapt back, "she's become even uglier."

"Now I shall defeat you both once and for all!" Illusion yelled as she growled and snarled at Max and Cloud before charging at them. Max and Cloud took their weapons out and barely had chance to block when Illusion charged at them and knocked them both up into the air and started clawing them. She grabbed them both and swung them round above her head before throwing them to the ground.

Max and Cloud quickly rolled out of the way as Illusion crashed into the ground where they were lay a few seconds earlier. Max and Cloud lunged at Illusion with their swords but she was too quick and she easily dodged the strikes and knocked them back with a mighty sweep of her hand. Max and Cloud managed to stop themselves before they reached the edge. "Shit! She's too strong and fast!" Cloud yelled in panic as Illusion summoned two large boulders and threw them at Cloud and Max, They both dodged out of the way and the boulders tumbled off the edge of the platform. "Our weapons can't even touch her!"

"In Feral Mode they are stronger and faster," Max told Cloud as he dodged one of Illusion's kicks. "But their magical resistance goes way down."

"So…we just…throw magic at her…" Cloud questioned as he dodged Illusion's claws with each word.

"Yeah," Max answered as he smirked at Cloud. "Got your Materia?" He asked.

"Of course," Cloud answered as he nodded, Max nodded back and the two looked as Illusion's body glowed before she disappeared into a portal. Cloud and Max ran back into the centre of the platform and they both readied lightning spells. A few seconds later a portal appeared and Illusion flew out of it and clawed at them before disappearing into another portal, she kept appearing and reappearing and she caught Cloud almost knocking his concentration.

Max grew increasingly annoyed at this, "hold still! He yelled before he and Cloud fired their lighting spells at Illusion. The spell hit just before she disappeared into another portal, Illusion's body crackled with electricity as she stood there stunned. Cloud and Max saw their chance and they charged at her and struck her with their swords causing Illusion immense pain.

After a while Illusion was able to move again and she knocked them to the ground with her sheer strength, she then grabbed them both and carried them to the edge of the platform and dangled them over the edge. "Now you'll both pay by falling forever in the dark abyss!" Illusion yelled as she smirked at the two, "once I defeat you I'll take over your pitiful planets! Any last words before I drop you!?"

"Yeah…" Max replied as his hands glowed with magical energy. "Don't play with fire…" Max continued as he placed his hands on Illusion's arms and they ignited in flames. "You might get burned!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Illusion screamed and roared in pain as she staggered back on to the platform and she threw Max and Cloud to the ground. She shook her arms vigorously until the flames went out and she glared at Max. Illusion then laughed as she rose into the air her body glowed with dark energy. "You've seen nothing yet!" She yelled as the aura round her body glowed even brighter and a dark energy shield formed all around her, she rose her arms in the air and the entire area went pitch black. Illusion's laughter could be heard as pools of dark energy formed under Max and Cloud's feet and they leapt out of the way as pillars of dark energy emerged out of the ground and kept emerging every where Max and Cloud went on the platform.

Illusion continued to laugh as the pillars of darkness continued to rise, "I think I have an idea," Max stated as his sword glowed with Holy energy. Cloud looked down at his sword and saw that it too was glowing with Holy energy. "It's the only way to defeat her." Cloud looked at Max for a moment and nodded, Max grabbed hold of Cloud's arm and threw Cloud into the air and leapt up himself just as a pillar of darkness erupted out of the ground. Max and Cloud both struck upwards with their swords and they cut Illusion's sides and the Holy power burned her insides causing her great pain. The aura in their weapons changed as they zoomed round her striking her with every element in the book, from fire, ice, lightning and earth to Holy and non-elemental power. They then swung their swords round in perfect unison, Cloud's sword came apart into its separate components and several ghost swords formed round Max's swords.

Cloud and Max both pointed their swords at Illusion and the sword components and the ghost swords all formed a circle round Illusion. "Huh…" Illusion uttered as she stared at the swords in shock, before Illusion could react Cloud flew towards Illusion and grabbed each sword component and sliced through her several times with each sword component while Max telekinetically controlled the ghost swords and got them to repeatedly slice Illusion in the same pattern that Cloud was, after a while Max, Cloud, the sword components, ghost swords and Illusion fell to the floor as Max and Cloud caught their swords. They looked down and saw that Illusion was unmoving.

Cloud and Max looked at Illusion's unmoving body and laughed. "We did it!" Cloud yelled as he grinned at Cloud, "it's all over…"

"Yeah…" Max started to say but he was interrupted when the ground started to shake.

"What's happening!?" Cloud questioned as he looked at the ground in shock.

"Illusion's dead," Max answered as he looked at Cloud. "So her dimension is slowly falling apart," he continued as they saw several floating objects fall from the sky.

A portal appeared in front of Cloud and Max and they ran towards it, "we should head back before the whole place collapses on us," Cloud stated as he looked at the portal.

"Yeah," Max agreed. "They'll be wondering where we got to," Cloud and Max ran to the portal and they were about to jump into it when Max was suddenly dragged back.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Max yelled as he looked down and saw that Illusion was grabbing on to his leg barely alive.

"Max!" Cloud yelled as he tried to reach out to his friend.

"Cloud! Just get through the portal!" Max called out to Cloud as he struggled against Illusion's grip.

"I'm not leaving you!" Cloud desperately told Max.

"Just go!" Max yelled to Cloud. "I'll catch up with you I promise!"

"If I must die, I'm making sure you go with me!" Illusion yelled to Max as she tightened her grip on his leg.

Max yelled as he felt himself being dragged even further back, "Cloud go!" Max yelled to Cloud one last time, Cloud gave Max a tearful nodded before he jumped into the portal and it closed forever.

* * *

Meanwhile everyone else had made it out of the castle when a dark portal appeared and Cloud tumbled out of it. "Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she ran over to Cloud and helped him up before hugging him, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Cloud answered as he smiled and hugged Tifa back.

"Where's Max?" Pandora questioned as she ran over to Cloud a panicky expression on her face.

Cloud sighed as he sadly shook his head, "he didn't make it…" Cloud answered sadly as he hung his head. "I'm sorry…"

"No…" Pandora uttered tearfully as she fell to her knees and started to sob. "He can't be…"

"Illusion grabbed him," Cloud explained what happened. "He couldn't break free…" Everyone hung their heads sadly and cried silent tears for their lost friends. "You were a great friend and hero Max," Cloud continued, "we'll never forget you…" Everyone muttered several hear hears before hanging their heads again.

"Hey guys, why the long faces?" A voice suddenly broke the silence, everyone turned round and saw Max stood there.

"Max!" Pandora yelled as she ran over to Max and dived on him knocking him to the ground. "Oh Max…I missed you so much…" Pandora uttered between kisses, "I was so worried about you…"

"Hey come on Pandora…" Max spoke to Pandora as he hugged her back. "I'm fine…just let me up…"

"Sorry," Pandora apologised as she got off Max and helped him to his feet.

"It's good to see you again Max," Cloud stated as he smiled at Max. "How did you get out of there?"

"I'm not sure," Max answered as he gave the group a confused expression. "After you went through the portal, I finally managed to get Illusion to loosen her grip on my leg…she just fell to the floor dead. The whole place was collapsing all around me I thought for sure I was a goner, but then…I was warped and I found myself in a strange place…"

"What kind of place?" Drogo questioned eager to hear more.

"I'm not sure but I heard this really strange voice," Max answered.

"What kind of voice?" Sunny asked.

"They didn't tell me who they were," Max explained as he turned round to look at Sunny. "They just said that it wasn't my time yet, I still had a lot to do. Another portal appeared, I jumped through it and I ended up here."

"Fascinating though this story is…let's get out of this creepy place!" Yuffie demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Let's go," Max ordered and the group made their way back to the Sierra. Thanks to the hyperdrive that Max installed they were able to get back to Cloud's world in no time. As they entered the Planet's atmosphere they saw that the crystalline creatures turned to crystal before shattering.

"Hey! Those creatures are dying!" Aerith yelled as she looked out of the window.

"When a necromancer dies, their magic dies with them," Nightshade informed Aerith. "Illusion is dead so all those creatures will be dead too."

"I'm just glad this is over…" Tifa uttered as she sighed with relief and rested her head in Cloud's chest.

"Me too," Cloud agreed as he stroked Tifa's hair. "We can finally relax."

"Alright you pieces of shit!" Cid's voice echoed throughout the intercom. "We're about to land at WRO! I'm gonna drop Rufus, Reeve and Shelke off then we're gonna go to the Seventh Heaven in Edge and party like we've never partied before!"

Everyone cheered when they heard Cid's announcement and an hour later everyone was sat in the Seventh Heaven drinking, talking and generally celebrating. Tifa was stood behind the bar and Cloud walked over to her, "come have a drink with us," Cloud offered as he kissed Tifa on the back of her neck.

"I can't I'm working," Tifa told Cloud but she couldn't help but giggle.

"Come on," Cloud enticed Tifa. "You have a right to celebrate too."

"Go on then…" Tifa replied as she smiled at Cloud, "but first I need to make an announcement." Tifa rang the bell and everyone stopped talking and looked at her. "Since this is a special occasion, for the rest of the night, drinks are on me!" Tifa announced and the whole bar cheered, Tifa poured everyone drinks including one for herself and she walked over to her friends. "A toast," Tifa told everyone as she raised her glass, "to…what should we toast to…" She asked as she looked at her friends.

"How about to alcohol?" Cid questioned as everyone laughed.

"Be serious Cid…" Tifa muttered.

"How about to friends?" Aerith suggested.

"To friends!" Everyone toasted as they clanged their glasses together, music was played and Yuffie was on the karaoke machine while, Cid and Barret played poker with Reno and Rude.

Max sighed happily to himself as Pandora walked up to him, "fancy another go on the karaoke machine once Yuffie's finished?" She asked.

"Nah," Max replied, "but feel free…" Max sat down and continued to watch as everyone had a good time and he couldn't help but feel satisfied that he helped to save an entire planet. The celebrations went on long into the night until the early hours of the morning when everyone went to bed.

The next morning Max was woken up to the sound of his phone ringing, Max sighed before picking the phone up and answering it. "Hello…" Max spoke sleepily down the phone.

"Max, it's Reeve," Reeve answered on the other end of the phone.

"Hey Reeve," Max greeted still half asleep.

"Glad you're ok my friend," Reeve stated happily. "Now, I've just been looking at those teleportation devices of yours and I discovered something interesting about them."

"What is it?" Max questioned suddenly sounding interested.

"Why don't you come down to my workshop in WRO," Reeve suggested. "That way I can tell you in person, and feel free to bring everyone else along too."

"Ok, thanks Reeve," Max replied gratefully before hanging up on the phone. He looked to his left and saw Pandora lying in the bed next to him asleep. "Pandora, wake up," Max whispered to Pandora as he shook her.

"Uuuuuuuhhhh…" Pandora moaned as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Max. "What…" she asked sleepily.

"Reeve called," Max answered. "He's discovered something about the teleportation devices and he wants us to go to his workshop right away…"

"Can't we go later?" Pandora questioned.

"No," Max replied as he pulled the covers off.

Pandora moaned, "You're no fun…" she uttered as she glared at him.

An hour later everyone had entered Reeve's workshop, "this had better be good Reeve…" Cid muttered irritably. "Kitsune boy dragged me out of bed…"

"Shut up Cid!" Max snapped at the pilot as he glared at him before turning back to Reeve, "Go ahead Reeve."

"Thank you," Reeve replied gratefully as he nodded at Max. "While you were fighting Illusion, I continued my work on your teleportation devices," he explained. "But, when you defeated Illusion, something remarkable happened. Your devices became active…"

"Active…" Everyone uttered in unison.

"Yes," Reeve answered as he looked at everyone. "The devices weren't broken, they were merely deactivated for a time."

"Until we defeated Illusion…" Max uttered as he began to understand.

"But wait, when you needed to get to the Kitsune World to get those ingredients to revive Zack and Aerith one of the devices activated…" Emily stated looking confused.

"I'm not sure why that happened," Max replied, "but I'm gonna look into it, thanks Reeve."

"Your welcome," Reeve responded as he smiled at Max and gave him and his friends their devices back.

"The devices are active again," Isis stated as she looked down at her own device. "You all know what that means…"

"It's time to go home," Max stated.

"You're leaving already…" Yuffie uttered looking disappointed.

"We have our own lives back on our own world," Pandora answered as she looked at Yuffie.

"Will we ever see you all again?" Tifa asked as she gave her new friends a hopeful stare.

"Of course," Max replied as he smiled at them. "Oh Barret, I know you mean well finding a new energy source for Corel but, oil isn't really the answer trust me."

"Why not?" Barret questioned as he gave Max a confused stare.

"Because it's finite and it will cause as much harm to the Planet as Mako did," Max answered. "Here try this instead," Max offered as he threw Barret a blue coloured crystal.

"What is it?" Barret questioned as he stared at the crystal in his hand.

"It's a power crystal," Max answered as he pointed at the crystal. "It can easily provide Corel the energy it needs, it has an infinite amount of power and it's environmentally friendly too."

"Thanks," Barret replied as he smiled at Max.

"Oh and Rufus, if the crystal is successful I've got plenty more that you can use for every city on the Planet." Max told Rufus as he gave him a bag full of blue coloured crystals.

"Thank you," Rufus replied gratefully, "they will be a great help."

"Cloud, I want you to have this," Max stated as he gave Cloud a device.

"What is it?" Cloud asked as he looked down at it.

"It's a communication device," Max answered, "If you want to talk just push this button and you can talk to me any time." Max explained as he pointed to a green coloured button. "It also doubles as a teleportation device, if you ever want to visit our world just press this button," Max added as he pointed to a blue coloured button.

"Thanks," Cloud thanked Max as he smiled at him.

Max and his friends said goodbye to Cloud and the others in turn, eventually Max came to Shelke. "Thanks for everything Shelke." Max thanked the girl as he smiled at her.

"Goodbye Max," Shelke replied as she hugged Max. "Don't forget your promise," she reminded him of a promise he had made to her not too long ago.

"I never forget my promises," Max told Shelke as he smiled at her. After the group said their goodbyes they pressed the buttons on their teleportation devices and they warped back to the Kitsune World.

* * *

1 Month Later

Max's POV

_It's been a whole month since we defeated Illusion and everything has pretty much returned to normal. Barret followed my advice and he closed all the oil wells down before testing out the power crystal I gave him, now Corel has unlimited power and isn't harming the Planet. In fact it was so successful that Rufus is now using the crystals as an energy source in every town and city. Cloud and Tifa finally went on that vacation they wanted to go on, they're currently in Costa Del Sol spending their holiday in a villa that Cloud bought a few years back. They took Marlene and Denzel with them and they're having a great time according to the postcard they sent. Aerith and Zack are currently holding the fort at Seventh Heaven, Aerith is also running her own flower shop which is actually doing really well and Zack has now become Cloud's partner in Strife Delivery Service._

_Cid after finally following the advice of Shera had quit smoking, he's been smoke free for a month now and he's still as irritable as ever, I guess some things never change. But he now goes into space whenever he wants thanks to the modifications on the Sierra and Shera really enjoys it too. Red took some time off being Guardian of Cosmo Canyon and went travelling for a while, during his travels he found a female member of his species called Kyra. Which was actually surprising as we all thought that Red was the last of his species, apparently she's really friendly and sophisticated and her and Red have really hit off, I'm happy for him though, he deserves some romance._

_Reno and Elena's relationship has reached the next level and they're currently living together, Reno has finally stopped his womanising ways. I'm guessing Elena put her foot down but he still goes out for the occasional drink with Rude. Tseng is actually ok with Reno and Elena's relationship and is still married to his work as usual. Yuffie returned to Wutai and decided to make peace with her father, she's finally given up on her Materia Hunting and decided to stay in Wutai to help make it better. That's the most mature thing she's ever done in her entire life. As for Vincent, well he's just being Vincent, he keeps to himself and he occasionally visits Lucrecia's shrine. But he's decided to be a little more sociable and is now a fairly regular customer at the Seventh Heaven and he helps WRO with the occasional jobs, I guess some people are just too busy to rest._

_As for my friends, they've returned to Terra Firma, Drogo has gone back to policing the streets. Last week he put 30 thieves behind bars. Sunny and Angel are currently teaching people the art of white magic, Emily has decided to expand her blacksmiths business and she now makes, swords, daggers, bows, spears, gauntlets and even guns. Her business has really done well since she decided to expand it, Lance is now joint governor of the city of Windermere along side Angel and he has passed laws that weren't passed before, Windermere has become a much better place as a result. My father is still a miserable git as always but he helps me to keep my finances in order, Pandora is still enjoying the life of luxury, she has servants wait on her hand and foot for everything. But as long as she's happy then I'm happy._

_As for me well…when I'm not doing royal lessons I'm doing what I do best, inventing and even working on alchemy projects. At least until the next adventure comes along, which given my track record isn't too far away, but until then I'm just happy relaxing._

_

* * *

_

Normal POV

Max was in his lab stirring the contents of a cauldron as Pandora entered the room wearing a revealing purple dress. "I thought you'd be in here," she stated as walked over to him, she then looked into the cauldron. "What are you making?" She questioned curiously.

"Just a project, I've been working on," Max answered vaguely as he continued to stir the contents as he added another ingredient to it.

"You've spent a whole month working on a potion…" Pandora uttered as she stared at Max in shock.

"Actually this is the thirtieth potion I've been working on," Max corrected Pandora as he stopped stirring and grabbed a glass bottle before putting it into the cauldron and brought it back out to show a light green liquid inside it. "I hope this works," he added as he looked at it before putting a rubber stopper into the bottle.

"What is it for?" Pandora asked as she stared curiously at the potion.

"It's a secret," Max stated as he walked away from her.

"So you're not going to tell me?" Pandora questioned as she followed Max to the door.

Max stopped and turned round to Pandora, "I tell you what, if it works I'll tell you all about it." Max promised before kissing Pandora on the lips, "love you," he stated quickly before leaving the lab. Pandora sighed and shook her head before she too left the room.

Meanwhile in WRO Headquarters Shelke was sat in Reeve's workshop waiting as Max entered the room, Shelke stood up and walked over to him. "I thought you'd forgotten," she stated as she smiled at him.

"I told you I wouldn't give up," Max replied as he smiled back. "I made another potion," he added as he held up the bottle containing the light green coloured liquid.

"Are you sure this one will work?" Shelke asked as she stared sceptically at the bottle, "the last few attempts weren't exactly optimistic."

"I know the other potions didn't work too well," Max admitted, "but I have a good feeling about this one."

"Ok…" Shelke uttered as she took the bottle from Max's hand and pulled out the stopper. She sniffed the potion and pulled a disgusted face before downing it in one. Shelke put the bottle down and for a few seconds nothing happened but after a while her stomach started to feel funny. "Max…what did you give me?" Shelke questioned as she stared at Max.

"Just give it a few minutes, the pain should subside," Max answered as he tried to be reassuring.

Shelke nodded and she waited a few minutes, after a few minutes the pain stopped. Shelke walked round the room but she felt that something wasn't right. "I didn't realise the floor was so low…" Shelke stated as she felt like she was higher than usual, she then looked up and saw a mirror and she was surprised to see that she was much taller, "what the…" Shelke uttered as she leapt back, she looked down at herself and she saw that she was now in the body of woman and was no longer trapped in a girl's body. "I…I look like a real woman now…" Shelke uttered before smiling. "I look my age…"

Max smiled when he saw this, "how do you feel?" Max asked.

"Like a woman," Shelke answered as she turned round to look at Max. "Now I can do the things I've always wanted to do, thank you Max." Shelke replied gratefully as she walked over to him and hugged him.

"I told you I'd keep my promise," Max reminded her as he hugged her back. "I'm glad I could help, why don't you give Aerith and Elena a call see if they want to go out tonight," Max suggested as he held out a phone to Shelke.

"Ok," Shelke stated as she took the phone and dialled a number, Max listened to the conversation that Shelke was having on the phone. She hung up and dialled another number and had another conversation before hanging up again. "They said they'd love to go out tonight," Shelke happily told Max. "I need to go out and buy a nice dress that actually fits," Shelke stated as she started to leave. "Thanks again Max."

"You're welcome," Max replied as he nodded his head. He smiled at Shelke and watched her leave before pushing a button on his teleportation device and he returned once more to the Kitsune World happy that he was able to fulfil his promise and help Shelke become a woman.

* * *

Meanwhile in the ruined dimension, Illusion's body was lay on the broken and crumbled platform limp and lifeless. A few seconds later a dark coloured aura started to surround her body and she was lifted up into the air, Illusion hovered in the air still for a moment before her eyes flickered open and glowed before evil laughter escaped her mouth.

* * *

**That's the final chapter of this story, it took me forever to type it and I apologise for the many pages but I wanted the story to go out with a bang. I hope you enjoyed it and it won't be the last of Max and the others either, they will be appearing in other stories that I am planning on typing. Final Fantasy VII and all its settings and characters belong to Square Enix. The original characters belong to me so if want to use them for anything please ask for permission first.**


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